In the face of health system reform, the American Medical Association’s primary concern is to protect the quality of health care given to our patients. In the “Her say” column (Jan. 16), Virginia Trotter Betts, president of the American Nurses Association, asks: “Why is the AMA opposed to greater use of advanced-practice nurses as primary-care providers?”
It’s simple. Nurses are an important part of the health care delivery team, but they do not receive the same training as physicians. They are skilled, dedicated and irreplaceable members of a collaborative health care team. As a team, we offer the world’s finest health care.
It’s not a matter of control or money. The education nurses receive is neither uniform nor adequate for independent medical practice. Only 40 percent of nurses in advanced practice have master’s degrees; only 66 percent of nurse practitioners are board-certified. Seventy-five percent of nurses in advance practice are too specialized to meet the much broader range of skills and knowledge that constitutes primary care.
The individual with the widest range of training and experience must be in charge of the health care team. Patients deserve no less.
