'Your Doctor Can Be a Nurse, and Will Be a Nurse'

There is a shortage of general practitioners. Under the new regime, some form of socialized medicine will be implemented and with time expanded. DNPs will be able to provide care in the primary gate keeper role at a cost reduction to the new system of healthare delivery and reimbursement. I see DNPs in the role of family practitioners in lieu of medical school graduates continuing the trend to specialize for larger income and clout. PAs will probabley retain their role in the specialists setting and outside of the general practice environment.  If I were you, I would be concerned less about the possibility of DNP and more about the progression of socialized medicine leading to more work for less money....ultimately less hiring of ancillary staff because health care organizations both private and corporate cannot afford them.

Wow... I'm earning a bachelor's degree in May, and wonder if having a title of MPAS or DPAS will really say that I've had more eduation, learned more, or will make more in salary.  

Whatever happened to master's and doctorate degrees being traditionally for university setting and associated research careers.  Why do we need to have Doctorate PA and NP degrees to practice healthcare when current state laws already allow us to practice within our scope of practice and under supervision.  

Is doctorate level training going to take providers out of communities and drive jobs to tertiary care centers where the Doctorate NP/PA uses 50% time to conducting research trials on patients/treatments/medications?  That would be about the only reason to have this title.  It is surely not needed to practice general/family care, or specialized medicine under a physcian.  I certainly don't think it will make me a higher salary, and my self esteem is not so low that I need a doctorate degree behind me to practice medicine within my scope of practice.  I'm just here to give good quality medicine within my scope and allowances per my supervising MD and state laws, regardless of degree or pay.

"Good Morning Sir/Maam, I'm Doctor (Nurses Name)...What brings you in to see us this morning?"....WOW!  I can just see the implications and the resentment now.  This is a dangerous practice.  I could never imagine addressing myself as "Doctor".  We (PA's and NP's alike) are most often called Doctor by the patients whom we have the honor of serving.  Time permiting and most often, I try to re-affirm that I am a PA.  Most often, patients who are already savvy to our profession will seldom ask to further explain the difference.  But what are the legal ramifications if I were to hold a DScPA and entered the room and said "Hi, I am Doctor Wayt...what brings you in to see us today."  Makes you think doesn't it.  How far is too far?  I am proud to be a PA.  I am proud that both the PA profession and the NP profession hold the privelaged degree of Masters.  At most in my career, I hold a dream of someday earning my PhD or my EdD, but will I now be required to pursue a DScPA degree, just to keep up with the NP's??  What's the Next Step?  Will we all someday be Double Doctors??  Just a thought.  Let's be proud of who we are.  Will the higher degree really earn more money or will we be offending the very profession who has harbored us under their wings, trained us and allowed us through delegation to provide service to humans and have given each of us a great career.  My best to you always.  Wayne

I think NPs are slitting their own throats. Physicians will resent them for trying to hold themselves at the same level without having gone through medical school, and by being independant providers, they make it more difficult to get credentialled at hospitals and with insurance companies. That at least seems to be the case in AZ. By pursuing doctorate level degrees, NPs will remove themselves from the supporting role that we've been competing with them for. No physician that I know is willing to hire a NP who expects the salary and benefits of a physician but hasn't been to medical school. They'll be able to open their own practice, but that will leave it to the consumer/patients to decide where they want to get their medical care from.

It has seemed for a long time that NP's like to glorifiy themselves with multiple credentials that do nothing but confuse patients.  I have seen everything from an AA degree to an online "certification" listed as credentials.  It would seem that people should spend more time perfecting their abilities and less time on trying to validate themselves with needless letters.  I do fear that the DNP classification will further confuse things.  It is unfair to a patient to be lead to believe that a "Doctor" is  a "Doctor"  when there will be far reaching differences in the the knowledge, experience and abilities of a MD/DO verses a DNP.  This assumption that letters after a name suddenly enables one to make more independent life and death medical decisions will surely lead to missed diagnoses with potential deadly consequenses.  Further, a disconnect of communication will form between the DNP's and specialty Physicians-that is unless NP's form an online or short part time course that suddenly certifies you as a DNP surgeon, dermatologist,etc.  %0d%0aAs far as PA's are concerned, we may be entering a time where it will be important to have an avenue for a doctorate if you choose.  I feel this should be in medicine.  The majority of PA programs are based in Medical Schools and we learn from and with physicians to practice and think as they do.  I feel there needs to be more emphasis on a bridge from PA to MD or DO.  Graduate school prerequisites for PA school are in line with DO and MD programs already.  Going through Gross Anatomy and all the other medical courses would basically be a review since we have already done it once.  The teaching of medicine should not change for anyone.  Programs should remain vigarous and weed out those who lack the ability to practice safe medicine.  Bottom line is when a patient comes in, the "Doctor" should be a "Doctor" in the traditional sence with the experience, knowlegde and ability to diagnose and treat safely and effectively.

My colleague has missed the point. Doctorate degrees in nursing are the final step for NP's to become autonomous health care providers. It is just a short walk for them to become "our" supervisors. This would deminish or make subordinate our degree and role. We should embrace our abilities to work independently by granting doctorate level degrees which our professional organizations should recognize not only as enhanced levels of competence, but also help legislate parity with autonomous NP doctorates. Only then will we have parity with NP's. Would you rather take orders from a Doctorate PA colleague who has gone on to do advanced traning, or a Nurse Practitioner. A advanced level of Physician Assistant will in no way deminish the BS or MS PA clinican. It will only enhance the Medical communities respect for our profession's dedication to higher academic and clinical standards.

Who cares? The Masters is the new bachelorsanyway. What good is a doctorate level degree in 2010 if someone with a BS degree from the 1970s functioned at a higher level. Soon there will be online "doctorate" degrees for NPs and PAs. It's a joke and all about cash fow for schools. The nursnf profession already has 50000 designations- the nursing profession has blurred its professionalism with all these letters and such. Do one thingand do it right1