'Dr. Nurse' might help with primary care shortage

What a dumb idea. Any day, it would be better to allow properly trained FMGs, who have a track record of good service and are waiting to come to this country and do their job. It is gut-wrenching to see the declining quality of medical care in this country. Even the best institutions are bleeding from the loss of high quality staff. We have given away the best jobs in computer industry to foreigners. We have given away the best defence contracts to Europeans. We have even trusted Pakistan to be our ally on the war on terror! We have no one to defend us from the terrorism that is being unleased on practicing physicians. It is tragic that AMA has cozied up to the bean counters and big Pharma and decided to happily officiate at the funeral of the medical profession. This cannot get more disgusting!

What a dumb idea? Are you serious? Have you ever visited a nurse practitoner? Probably not. Who gave the medical deists the exclusive rights to diagnose and treatment? The AMA uses its lobbyist power to convince money hungry congressmen and congress women to buy into the notion that someone other than themselves can provide competent care. I would suggest doing a literature search on comparisons of physician and nurse practitioner outcomes before you talk about dumb ideas.

Nurse practitioners are supervised by physicians so those outcomes are obsolete.

The training of nurse practitioners in regards to even basic pathophysiology is no where close to adequate to make proper diagnostic and treatment decisions. The are trained to fill a very important and often underappreciated supportive roll in medical care but are not trained to be solo medical providers. I second the comment that all the research/literature on nurse practitioners must be read with the understanding that they are SUPERVISED BY A PHYSICIAN. The idea of a DNP or an NP providing primary care is ludicrous and shows why health care in the country continues to decline and will continue to do so if this is allowed to continue.

Unfortunately, the gov't is going for the low cost up front but who will evaluate the back-end cost? An NP is not an MD. Simple example -- my daughter had mono, NP diagnosed it as strep throat, daughter got hives from the amoxocillin, MD immediately took her off it when he stepped in. Daughter's liver became inflamed while NP waited for strep throat culture to come back, which it wasn't. NP has a role, but it needs to be appropriate.

Why can't the Fed just fund / offer more slots in med school & residencies?