"I'm A Physician Not A Provider" Article Review | Nurse Practitioner Reacts

How do I join?

I’m sorry but in my “pharmacy world” experience, I have never NOT called someone a doctor when I knew that is who I needed or who I was talking to. BUT—— when we get an inordinate number of scripts written like a kindergartner penned them or, worse yet, entered into the computer by someone who is clearly going to “blame the computer” for their own inability to find something as mundane as amoxicillin and yes, we have the responsibility to verify what we are doing if it is unclear and if unsure who even wrote the script from a clinic with 8 doctors, 3 PA’s or NP’s etc guess who I am asking for – the provider for that patient – because I might not know who it is. And maybe if the Dr wanted to be called doctor maybe I would if i could tell…. What the heck. People called me ‘blond pharmacist’. Or ‘the lady pharmacist’ or other lovely sayings. Guess what….. I didn’t write to the APhA to yell about it….. granted they are useless. It totally different topic…. Practically no one is being “demoted” to provider to be insensitive or devalue anyone’s education and training. Good grief. Some of these are the same ones who send nonsensical prescriptions with comments “do not call our office for anything”. but when there is a legitimate concern they call you names and act like you are attacking them rather than looking at things in the perspective of “we’re all in this together” (did I just quote High School Musical…………). Been a long day…

I see an NP by choice and have for years. She sits down and takes her time. Of course, my mom sees a physician in the same practice and she has been his patient for 30 years and he sits down with her. My NP handles everything, including my annual exam. In my experience, I have received better care from NPs and PAs than any MD. Did these drs throwing a fit not go into medicine to help people? I don’t trust anyone who thinks he/she is better than anyone else based on being in school. How many times do RNs catch MD mistakes? I respect nurses who put up with cranky patience at the bedside far more than an MD who doesn’t even enter a hospital room.

Diana: Alert & Oriented x 0

@Nurse Liz, I can see the discontent with being referred to as “Medical Provider”. This title ambiguously lumps together the many medical professionals with 1/3-1/2 the education/skills required of a physician. A physician’s position needs to be delineated as such due to the leadership role in Modern Medicine.
It can be likened to calling an Engr, a Technician or lumping together, a School Principal, and a School Counselor, and a School Nurse, as “Education Providers”. The insurance companies and their MBA prepped CEO’s that are all about money, probably coined the word, “Provider” for financial reasons.

Physicians are the only group of professionals that refer/call themselves to their Academic Title (doctor) not their LICENSE (physician). Nurses go by their LICENSE (LPN, RN, etc), and physicians hate on nurses that have extra credentials after their name, (references their education, like critical care nurse, etc).