In the last post I wrote about Sandeep Jauhar’s essay in the New York Times, Nurses Are Not Doctors. Dr. Jauhar doesn’t condone independent nurse practitioner practice and he suggests that in order to expand the number of primary care physicians their salaries should be increased.
Somehow that last statement has hounded me. Not so much for the obvious reason that excessive physician salaries drive up health care costs but because I wouldn’t want my primary provider’s impetus to be money versus a genuine concern for his/her patients.
Okay, my reasoning is rather black or white. But I invite you to watch the 60 Minutes episode, The Health Wagon (try to ignore the Viagra ad). You will come away with an appreciation of the work nurse practitioners do to address the unmet health care needs in our country. Clearly they are not motivated by money. (The NPs practice in Virginia and can “diagnose illness, write prescriptions and order tests and x-rays”)
If you wish to bypass the video, visit The Truth About Nursing to read an overview of the program. Plus this is a great blog to follow if you want to keep up with nursing issues.
Nursing Stories: Memories of an Older Nurse 