Nobody can answer this question for me about Primary Care

[psychMDhopefully]

So, what people say online about primary care and what I see don't really match up. People are saying midlevels are taking over primary care, and primary care is simple so midlevels can do it, but if this is the case, why is are the FM residents being recruited so heavily not just at my school, but other places as well? Recruiters are offering them stipends with in residency, signing bonuses, loan repayment, if it were easier and cheaper to replace FM with NP, why go through all the trouble to recruit FM. Why not just hire NPs. I've asked the people in the FM forum, and they said " Well who told you NPs are replacing FM physicians?" Basically everybody, its a common sentiment.

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[vendtex]

Because most of the time midlevels have to have supervising physicians and there are shortages in primary care providers.


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[TedStark]

You can't fake knowledge and good outcomes. NP's may have fooled a few sweet old ladies, but not the employers who are picking up the tab.

 

[vendtex]

They often have high patient satisfaction numbers though and are usually cheaper so their employers like that.


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[Taddy Mason]

...what people say online...

There's your answer.

 

[VA Hopeful Dr]

So, what people say online about primary care and what I see don't really match up. People are saying midlevels are taking over primary care, and primary care is simple so midlevels can do it, but if this is the case, why is are the FM residents being recruited so heavily not just at my school, but other places as well? Recruiters are offering them stipends with in residency, signing bonuses, loan repayment, if it were easier and cheaper to replace FM with NP, why go through all the trouble to recruit FM. Why not just hire NPs. I've asked the people in the FM forum, and they said " Well who told you NPs are replacing FM physicians?" Basically everybody, its a common sentiment.

So let me get this straight: "people" are saying that NPs are taking over primary care. Yet when we post in the FM forum, we all say that this is nonsense (and point out the sweet contracts we're all getting to prove it) so you post in the med student forums asking why the discrepancy?

 

[girlofgrace7]

NPs are becoming more prevalent, but they all need supervising doctors to work with them. If they have a million NPs, they're still going to need probably half that many doctors or so to sign off on their patients (and write the narcotic prescriptions they can't write). Also, in primary care, the NPs generally see the straight-forward patients. I know the NPs at my program can only see "normal" kids when they come in for well check-ups (not any kids with complicated medical conditions) and when kids come in with anything unusual, they come and find one of the attendings to go look at the kid. In specialty clinics, they usually see the relatively textbook kids (straight-forward diabetes kids, etc) rather than diagnostic or complex cases. In the hospital, they act essentially like a resident in most cases; they still have to have notes co-signed and round with an attending.

 

[vendtex]

NPs are becoming more prevalent, but they all need supervising doctors to work with them. If they have a million NPs, they're still going to need probably half that many doctors or so to sign off on their patients (and write the narcotic prescriptions they can't write). Also, in primary care, the NPs generally see the straight-forward patients. I know the NPs at my program can only see "normal" kids when they come in for well check-ups (not any kids with complicated medical conditions) and when kids come in with anything unusual, they come and find one of the attendings to go look at the kid. In specialty clinics, they usually see the relatively textbook kids (straight-forward diabetes kids, etc) rather than diagnostic or complex cases. In the hospital, they act essentially like a resident in most cases; they still have to have notes co-signed and round with an attending.

I think some states allow them to practice independently now.

 

[deleted778326]

So let me get this straight: "people" are saying that NPs are taking over primary care. Yet when we post in the FM forum, we all say that this is nonsense (and point out the sweet contracts we're all getting to prove it) so you post in the med student forums asking why the discrepancy?

I laughed reading this.