Does Anyone See a Nurse Practitioner rather than a Physician

[reezz]

Ive decided to "break up" with my PCP and find someone else. He just doesnt seem to be on the ball with things anymore.

A friend recommended her doctor but she has since stopped practicing in the closest office to us and referred everyone to her assistant who is a (Nurse Practitioner).

My friend says she is wonderful but Im a little skeptical about what services she can actually provide.

Im due for a complete physical and some blood work done to make sure my iron and calcium are okay.

Any experiences, suggestions, comments welcome

TIA!

Arica

[wookin]

My doc has a nurse practitioner in his office. I hardly ever see him only her. She has done complete physicals, dispensed meds and ordered tests. It kinda bugs me that I pay the same to see a doc as a nurse but whatcha gonna do. This was going on in Ny and now in Ga. Seems to be the way now.

[cpaige]

I've seen them and I have no problems w/ them. I actually find their bed side manner to be better than an MD. As the PP stated, meds, scripts, etc from them w/ no problems.

[Lori63]

I only see the Nurse practitioner at my OB/GYN. Don't need the OB anymore, and she can do anything else I need, and is easier to get in to see.

[sns4063]

There used to be a Nurse Practitioner at my PCP's office. I'd go to her for full physicals. She was super, and really took the time to talk and make sure I had all my questions answered. She left for bigger and better things though-lots of folks were sad!

[patriciamer26]

Agreed on the bedside manners.. My daughter loves seeing her NP

[clippyclippy]

My doc has a nurse practitioner in his office. I hardly ever see him only her. She has done complete physicals, dispensed meds and ordered tests. It kinda bugs me that I pay the same to see a doc as a nurse but whatcha gonna do. This was going on in Ny and now in Ga. Seems to be the way now.

The NP I see has a lower fee than the MD she works for...
And I love her. She is never rushed, takes all the time I need to talk and whatever. I do like the MD in the office - he was the one we started seeing when we started at that practice, she came later.
But if anything would ever come up that's outside of her realm of practice, she'd consult with him or refer me to him.

[JulieDB]

I have and my daughter has. I saw one many years ago. It wasn't my choice but I couldn't get in to see the Dr. Not that it would have mattered because neither one gave me the correct diagnosis. For that I had to move to another state where every single Dr. I saw said, "You have stasis dermatitis! You need a Vascular Surgeon!" And they were right.

First time daughter saw one she was told she had strained her back. Wrong! Many months later with her dancing and taking gym all the while we found out it was a near stress fracture. More recently we were told twice that she had a virus. One by a Dr. and one by the NP. It was whooping cough.

I don't think you can place much stock in the NP thing alone. There are bad NPs and there are bad Drs. I have seen them both.

My SIL is a nurse. She is the one who marched my FIL into his Dr. and demanded that he be tested for thyroid. She was right! He had a thyroid problem.

[joshmamabear]

I don't think you can place much stock in the NP thing alone. There are bad NPs and there are bad Drs. I have seen them both.

This is my experience as well. I don't mind seeing the NP when the specialist is not available once or twice BUT there's a reason I see the specialist because I'm more confident on what he says. It really takes time to find the right MD we're comfortable with, but it is all worth it when it comes to our health.

All things being equal (they're not equal in terms of length of study and experience) and if I have to pay same fees, I'd rather see the board certified specialist, if I need to. JMO.

[Doryjane]

I used to see a Nurse Practitioner, but she changed her policy and refused to see anyone that smoked :( So Im out of a dr myself now