Disincentive to becoming a doctor
Nurse practitioners and physician assistants – collectively known as advanced practice providers (APPs) – are valuable members of the healthcare team. However, they are not interchangeable with physicians. New legislation co-sponsored by 26th District Sen.
Higher reimbursement for physicians incentivizes the future physician workforce. It acknowledges the difference between four years of medical school, 3-7 years of residency, and 12,000-16,000 direct patient care training hours of physicians compared with nurse practitioners, who complete 2-3 years of additional education, no residency, and only 500-1000 hours of direct patient care. In addition, those extra years of education are costly; medical students carry on average
The physician workforce has been in steady decline in
The physician shortage is a national problem. Due to the dearth of primary care physicians in
The differences in healthcare costs were nothing short of astounding. After adjustment for complexity, patients cared for by APPs cost
Finally, if you are not convinced that SB 5704 is bad for Washingtonians, you should know that pay parity was heavily touted by
Nurse practitioners and physician assistants are an invaluable part of the healthcare system. They extend the capacity of physicians to treat patients. I work with a pediatric nurse practitioner who had extensive pediatric nursing experience prior to obtaining her advanced nursing degree and works within the scope for which she was educated and trained. While I value my nurse practitioner and physician assistant colleagues tremendously, especially throughout this pandemic,
Dr.
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