Though I am not a doctor, and therefore regardelss of my education am uneducated as a previous post suggests, I would like to comment if my slang English is understandable.
Medicine is delegated by the physician. Though regulated by federal, state, county, local laws and the practice at which he/she works, everyone who is not a physician ultimately pratices under the physician.
An RNP, RN-A, and PA-C cannot practice without a physician's signature. Furthermore, a physician can expand or limit the scope of practice (within limits) of these providers, and therefore, would be able to limit them so as not to be a 'threat' to buisness.
So why are they being hired? If we the public are a brood of invalids because we don't have the initials MD after our names, why then do our insurances pay for them, and why do doctors use them? Profit and manpower. The billing is the same, however physician and RNP/PA salaries are not. The bottom line increases. Additional healthcare providers means the less critical patients can get treated faster by these sub-ordinates. More patients means more billing, which means more money.
Lastly, if a physician is 'scared' or inconfident about the RNP/PA because they share the public's lack of education, then he/she should further educate the clinician to a level that he/she sees fit to reflect him/her and his or her practice.
~BB
