Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

As an NP, I definitely feel that there is some bias in this book. I bought it and am currently reading it and I agree and disagree. At first, I thought about this in terms of myself. Personally in my practice, I am the clinical leader. After 15 years of practice, most Physicians and NPs come to me for questions and training. I am 100% guideline oriented and am constantly researching, learning, and updating my skills. But I understand my limitations on my knowledge base. But I recognize and compare myself to other NP's and the knowledge base is vastly different. I am 100% an exception to the rule. I talk with other NP's and it seems they don't have a quarter of the knowledge that I have. I am constantly questioning what I am doing and if I am making the right decision. If that is how I practice, what are they doing?? That is the part that is just as scary? As an NP, I went the traditional way for education. I went in the classroom, to old antiquated universities and I killed myself. Overall, from start to finish, it was 15 years of education with only 3 semesters missed! Compared to now where you can become a nurse and a FNP in under 5 years! That is insane! I was a nurse for 10 years before I became an NP! On this, I 100% agree with the book. But, it is still extremely bias and leaves out MASSIVE issues that plague the physician world. Let's be 100% honest her, physicians are no better. Yes, I have met some amazing, sharp, brilliant doctors. Ones that are a shining example of what an MD should be. Like me, the are no the exception to the rule. First off, doctors have failed at bedside manner for decades. Hence the public perception of the NP providing better care. Doctor's bedside manner is abhorrent to say the least. They spend seconds with patients and move onto the next, no explanation of diagnosis, no POC, etc. I am sorry, but nobody can practice medicine will when only seeing patients for 10 sec. This is common place in the homes setting, hospital, and office setting. NPs with their origins at the bedside will sit and assess a patient and take our time. Yet, we still have to bill like a physician so what is the excuse? It's poor patient care and a reputation that they have through their own practice earned. Hence the public perception. I would argue this point with anyone. Yes, you, like I may be the exception but you have to step back and look at the entire healthcare system. Second, I believe 47% of doctors are foreign. I know there are various different sources so I could discuss this. That aside, so all these foreign schools have the same education as US standards? We know they don't. The medical schools from Africa are vastly different and fast track MD's but even nursing standards. Yes, they have to their PAID residency here in the U.S. And how many of them skate through it? Lastly, is this. I sat there the other day and was checking MAPs on a patient. I do this on every patient (something generally physicians do not do). MAPs is our state program for narcotic prescribing. I looked up a patient, 46 years old. Only significant Dx was low back pain and OA of the knees. Yes the D.O. had prescribed her Norco 10s, five times daily, as well as 90mg morphine daily. Mind you, this is NOT a cancer pt, lol. I of course looked up the doctor and it was an American doctor, US trained, a few years younger than me. So I have met and assessed this pt, done an H&P, and unless I am so terrible at my job, there is no medical reason this pt should have been receiving this level of opioids for over two years. I wish this was a single occurrence, but a large portion of my pt population are receiving inappropriate amounts of narcs from doctors who know better. Now, with a patient population of 350 per month, I check a lot of narcotic prescribing and I never, never see this habit from NPs. So, while the authors may site the lack of experience of NPs in the healthcare field leading to patient death, I would point they finger right back at they pointing out they are overdosing them and turning them into junkies. There are two major things that anger my about this book. The first (and maybe I haven't read it yet so I apologize in advance) is that there is little in providing a solution. NPs and PA's are a valuable part of the health care system and save more lives than they ever harm. We always want to improve. Why not push for higher standards and work side by side for this? The second thing is that there are great NPs, PAs. Some a thousand percent better than doctors. And there are great doctors. But there are just as many terrible doctors as NPs and PAs. This is not a profession problem of crappy healthcare, its a system problem. Simply put, physicians are just as bad. From what I have read, this book is short sighted and seems to be written out of the response of two M.D's who do not see the healthcare system as a whole and who are like angry from hearing that "NPs are better than doctor's" from patients. I am not going to take offense to being professionally trolled. I applaud the effort to open the eye's on a topic. I wish it wasn't done in a smear approach (PATIENTS AT RISK....oooo, scary). And I wish it was done in a professional manner, while respecting our professions while also honestly analyzing their own and it's problems. But hey, anyone is allowed to write a book. personally, I would never work for or with them and that is their loss and I bet my peers would say the same. Just my opinion.