Nurse Practitioners: the New General Practice Doctors

It appears that many who thought about medicine went to law school. An attorney can make enough money in one Medical Malpractice case to retire to the Bahamas.

Courtesy: alaskanp.org

(MOLALLA, Ore.) - The Prima Donna arrogant physicians are becoming the Medical Dinosaurs (M.Ds.). The over eager Flashing Knives Surgeons are getting themselves sidetracked also by new robotic surgery.

The Oregonian newspaper yesterday presented the article: Nurse Practitioners Help Plug Caregiver Gap. Simultaneously most medical schools have a predominance of female students. In several ways this makes sense.

Females have historically been the nurturers and physicians should have more of a nurturing attitude of actuality than they frequently exhibit. Most physicians passed the course of Arrogance 101 and many also passed the course Greed 101. Don’t think I just made this up.

I’ve been on all three sides of medicine; patient, professor and physician. I’ve been a medical patient all my life, a Professor of Physiology, Pharmacology and Toxicology for 25 years, and a Physician for 25 years.

I have heard so many complaints by patients, nurses, medical technicians, medical students, interns, residents, and 16 classes of Nurse Pharmacology, et cetera, that I feel I must blow off some steam. The Oregonian article was a wake up call for the medical profession!

Michael Bleich, Dean of OHSU School of Nursing points out convincingly that their Nurse Practitioners are indeed filling the gap of the once Princes of Medicine, the Family Doctors, which the newly minted specialist and sub specialist disdain. O.K. there are some good ones out there but I have heard toooo many complaints.

It appears that many who thought about medicine went to law school. An attorney can make enough money in one Medical Malpractice case to retire to the Bahamas.

Diane Solomon, featured in The Oregonian article, is a rare bird or is it birdy. She started out as a Nurse-Midwife. Then she proceeded to become a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner. She now plans to proceed to an M.D. and a residency in Psychiatry although this is not clear in the article. What would be a Doctorate in Nursing? Solomon is way ahead of the pack of medical caregivers.

The American Medical Association, The American Academy of Pediatrics and other groups are fighting this. Poor guys can’t they see that they will be totally out numbered and out classed by these new types of Nurse Practitioners. They might think about law schools.

Before any of that, Phil Leveque was a Combat Infantryman in the U.S. Army in WWII. He suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder more than 60 years after the war, and specialized in treating Veterans with PTSD during his years as a doctor in Molalla, Oregon. Do you have a question, comment or story to share with Dr. Leveque?
Email him: ASK DR. LEVEQUE

More information on the history of Dr. Leveque can be found in his book, General Patton's Dogface Soldier of WWII about his own experiences "from a foxhole". Order the book by mail by following this link: DOGFACE SOLDIER OF WWII/a> If you are a World War II history buff, you don't want to miss it.