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Warm and Fuzzy

Benjamin Brewer, M.D. writes a regular column in the Wall Street Journal entilted, "The Doctor's Office." Yesterday, he wrote the article, "Primary Care Has Rewards Despite Hassles." I suppose the article is intended to give you the warm and fuzzy's about what it should be like being a primary care physician today - he talks of saving lives and delivering babies.

However, I guess Nurse Practitioners are among the "Hassles" that he speaks of:

"The future competition from retail clinics, various physician extenders and the opening of 200 Ph.D. nursing programs that will churn out "doctor nurses" is just a symptom of our health system's ills, not necessarily a cure for them."

By the way, those programs are Doctor of Nurse Practice (DNP), not PhDs.

I don't believe any of those "hassles" purport to be the cure-all for the ills of the healthcare system. They are however, an attempt to address many of today's dysfunctions. It is wonderful to see those pesky disruptors doing something to improve the situation rather than just sit back and tell stories of the good ole days and maintain the status quo. I also find this backhanded anti-NP remark quite ironic since looking up his office's website, Forrest Family Practice, he employs both a family nurse practitioner and certified nurse midwife. I can't imagine they feel warm and fuzzy after reading his comments. I certainly don't.
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