What a hilariously offensive thread. I really hope you are a troll since the thought of you taking care of patients with that attitude is somewhat concerning.
Anyways, Just wondering everyone's thoughts on DNP and being called doctor. Personally, I feel that if they got a doctorate they should be called doctor. They go to school for an incredible period of time in order to get paid considerably less then most any physicians. Additionally, I really don't feel they are encroaching in physician's 'territory' so much as helping to fill the ever increasing primary care gap. So much as this 'amount of respect' topic I fell they are highly sucessful in their field of choice and you are highly sucessful in your field. There should be mutual respect for each others accomplishments.
NPs/DNPs don't get anywhere
close to the same level of training as physicians do. Their basic science training is extremely weak and a significant portion of their curriculum focuses on nursing theory, statistics courses, leadership courses, business management, etc, and not actual physio, pathophys, pharm, etc, which are far more relevant to clinical practice. Not only that, the avg. NP/DNP receives between 500 and 1000 hours of clinical training. Physicians, by the time they're done with med school and residency, have more than 12000.
An NP/DNP degree can be done almost entirely online. Can't say the same for med school and residency. An NP/DNP degree can be completed within 2-3 years (several BSN-DNP programs exist that can be completed in this short duration or even less). Can't say the same for med school. There are several direct-entry NP/DNP programs than can be completed within 2-3 years with
no prior healthcare experience at all. So, no, getting a DNP does
not require anywhere close to the same length of time as med school and residency does. Unless you're working full-time as a nurse and taking the NP/DNP courses online, spread out over several years.
NPs/DNPs aren't necessarily filling in a primary care gap. There are nursing "residencies" (which are essentially equivalent to a couple of weeks/months of a real physician residency) opening up left and right, with USF being a famous one that started a huge thread in the residency forums, in lucrative fields like cardiology, dermatology, etc. Doesn't look like APNs are interested in filling the primary care gap but, rather, are seeing primary care as a stepping stone to more lucrative specialties. Data also suggests that NPs/DNPs are filling in the role as PCPs in rural areas; they tend to be attracted to urban areas, just like physicians. Also, the idea that NPs/DNPs will save money is a little misleading considering that they're lobbying heavily to be reimbursed equally as physicians.
There are many errors in this post. I will defer to Kaushik on this one. BTW, are you a DNP or head of their PR campaign?
I guess I've posted too many times on this issue.