Nurses have battled the image of being doctor’s helpers for so long and sometimes it seems as if we have broken through that barrier, and other times it feels as if we are being stuffed right back into that box.
Whether or not Congress ever gets the health care reform passed, there are many changes that must take place in order for the quality and affordability of health care to improve and meet the challenges of this new decade and beyond.
Nurse practitioners have grown to be one of the most well respected branches of the nursing profession and yet the public has yet to come to the same conclusion. Too many don’t understand the vital role NPs play in health care today. Additionally legislation has held back the progress of autonomy for many of our colleagues and why should that be ?????
Recently, Sara Ellis at RNDegrees.Net posted a couple of excellent blogs dealing with issues facing nurse practitioners today. One is a response to a report on CNN about family practice doctors complaining that NP’s make more money than they do. Here’s a snippet of her comments…
“As I recently pointed out in Family Practice Docs Upset That Some Nurses Earn More, only 2% of fourth-year medical students plan to work in primary care after graduation (according to a survey published in JAMA in September 2008), so isn’t it high time the AMA stopped it’s lobbying efforts to hold Nurse Practitioners down and put the interests of patient’s first?.”
Please check out these important blog entries! Sara encourages nurses to weigh in and comment, so please do so. This is an important issue for all nurses as we move forward and educate the public about nursing, health care and wellness.
8 Comments
certified nursing assistants
Surely nurses do a lot more than what doctors do, they attend the patients, listen to their problems.
therefore Nurses are the best.
CNA classes
certified nursing assistants
definately, nurses should get more or the same what doctors are getting
because they are the one attending and taking care of the patients.
I totally agree with you
CNA Training
TheTracker
Nice post, just discovered the blog.
The 2% figure from JAMA 2008 is misquoted here. 2% is not graduates going into primary care, but those planning on doing a residency in Internal Medicine and then doing primary care. Residencies in Family Practice and Pediatrics were not included in the 2% figure.
The number of graduates going into primary care is lower than it used to be, but not that low.
Mike Mullen
I agree with Chizlov regarding choosing a profession, not choosing your salary. If those complaining MDs wanted to make more $$, they should have chosen to be a highly specialized physician like a Cardiothoracic Surgeon.
Aloha,
Mike
http://www.nursinghawaii.blogspot.com
mikemilan10
Hi
I prefabricated a analogous place almost this on my blog a few life ago. I was examination the educational requirements of both comic and how closely similar they currently are. Someone spoke to me personally how untune they were that a nurse specialist (the community I chose) can wee author income than a medicine.
……………………..
Mike
Job Site
Centennial College
Nursing in demand all over the world. Nursing provide good opportunity.
Practical Nursing Program
HealthStaffConnect.com
We just launched the beta version of a healthcare professionals’ only site – healthstaffconnect.com (April 1, 2010). Wanted to see about permissions to repost your blog – “yes-nurse-practitioners-can-and-should make more money than some doctors” within our “Nurses' Corner” blog area. Please contact us at administrator@healthstaffconnect.com
Thanks,
Admin, Health Staff Connect, Inc
chizlov
I made a similar post about this on my blog a few days ago. I was comparing the educational requirements of both fields and how closely similar they currently are. Someone spoke to me personally how upset they were that a nurse anesthetist (the profession I chose) can make more income than a doctor. I responded by saying that the career should be a personal choice, not a choice of salary, if I wanted to be a doctor, I would have chose that instead but I did not.