our places in the mix are different. We are not nurses because we are not as smart as Docs we have a totally different practice. I ran through the hospital many times at night to hop up on a patient who was having cardiac problems. When the doc came in they did not push us off and start yelling orders. They put themselves in a place to keep us from falling off the bed and asked where we were in this emergency. We did it together.

I've spent too many hours in the ED recently so I guess I don't always see things when they aren't hectic.

had 4 babies at home, 3 w midwife-doc team, last just midwives. the midwives were mostly in charge. (in fairness, that last 1 almost fell out.) had my 1st 1 in a hospital and learned my lesson.
most of the urgent care clinics around here use ap nurses. love em. i’d have 1 for my primary if that was available. they have a much better sense of humor than docs, usually, which means a lot to me.

til u get into specialties, they’re fine.

My father was a skilled and compassionate physician.

But -- I'm also certain that he couldn't have run his medical practice without the assistance of skilled medical professionals, e.g, lab techs, x-ray techs, medical assistants, nurses, staff who did the insurance and handled the patients. My father saw patients for maybe 10 minutes. The rest of the staff handled the other 50+ minutes of their visits.

Thank you AND TO THOSE ABOVE. This is just an unneeded argument these days. Gone are the days when we had to stand when the docs walk into the room. Way back in my nursing beginning I saw Dr.s walk up to a nurses station where she was charting and pull the chair out from under her rather than use the chair next to her. No problem, it was only a typical Doc. No more, they would not even think of doing that now.

nurses could not do EKGs or draw blood or start an IV. I started work as the night nurse in charge of the ER. One of the Medical Residents taught me how to do each. Not even the staff docs ever complained or told any one; they were just happy to see that EKG when they entered the room or to have me drawing blood or starting an IV while they were doing more important exams.
In 1965 when I was in basic training for the Army Nurse Corp, there was a special class to teach blood drawing and hanging an IV, as only 5 of us knew how.
Not until I joined the Army did I have someone else giving out the bedpans, taking VS, giving baths and doing all the other scut work as we had no nurses aides.
The only computer we had was our brain ( I hated figuring out drops per minute for IVs), We had to remember every thing done for a patient and print it in their chart.
Starched white uniforms, caps that left sores on your head - I was the first nurse in our hospital (1962) to wear white pants to work and had to report to the Nursing Director's office with the hospital's Administrator in attendance - they were not happy! Told them that they could fire me but I was tired of fighting off drunks, mental patients and dirty old men trying to reach under my skirt. A notice went out that afternoon that pants were allowed.

Today, at 86 yo, my PCP is a NP and I love her. She has recently written a letter stating that I am in my 'right mind' as I am writing a new holographic Last Will and Testament and will need that to show the court on my passing.
I am so proud of the nursing profession, what it was and what it is now (It took a lot of hard work from all of us) and what it can become. My own mentor graduated from nursing in 1902 and I now sponsor nursing students at our Comm. College as I want a good nurse when I am 97 yo.!!!

I'm seeing new ranges of nurses (ANPs in Neurology!) being created every few years. It seems obvious that they are well trained and empathetic. Not that MDs can't be empathetic, but I think the medical schools almost force their students to become inhuman.

It's also too simplistic to put this down to male-female practitioners. But I'll generally be happier to see a woman in charge (as they have been for most of my life.)

Otherwise I see his male nurse or his female physician's associate, as I understand many want to be called rather than physician's assistant. She is able to give me more time with her than he can and she's very knowledgeable and attentive. I'm happy.