KPLU Local News
(2010-10-05)
Listen Now:
null
The WWAMI - Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, Idaho - regional medical school program, which seeks to train primary care doctors.
(AP Photo/Craig Moore)
The trend is upsetting many doctors
Washington state's approach to licensing nurses is getting affirmation from a new national report. Washington is one of about a dozen states that allow nurse practitioners to offer primary care without the supervision of a doctor. Over the past decade, they earned the right to prescribe drugs and run their own family practice clinics.
A report from the national Institute of Medicine recommends all states move toward an expanded role for advanced nurses. States like Washington and Oregon are considered models.
"We were right in this state to be progressive about the nurse practitioner role, because it's already opening up primary care access for patients in our state," says Linda Tieman, executive director of the non-profit Washington Center for Nursing.
There's a looming shortage of primary care doctors, in Washington and around the country. Under President Obama's health-care law, thousands of uninsured people will get coverage in the next few years, and need a primary care physician -- at the same time Baby-Boomers are reaching the years when they'll need more care.
But, the American Medical Association and other physician groups are fighting against an expanded role for nursing. They point out doctors get thousands of hours more training than a nurse with a Masters or PhD degree, and a doctor might spot subtle but important differences in a medical condition, and be better prepared if something goes awry. The study from the Institute of Medicine (funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation) counters this concern, finding no safety problems with nurse practitioners.
Meanwhile, the Obama Administration is funding more training for all types of primary care -- including family medicine, pediatrics, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants. The University of Washington is getting $2 million to expand its physician assistant program.
Web Extras:
The American Academy of Family Physicians calls for a new comparative study of nurse practitioners vs. primary care physicians.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation campaign to "champion nursing."
© Copyright 2012, KPLU
