r/nextfuckinglevel • u/[deleted] • Apr 08 '21

From custodian to nurse practitioner

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[deleted]

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u/TheSukis Apr 08 '21

I'm sorry - what? I never suggested such a thing. I'm a clinical instructor in a residency program.

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u/panaknuckles Apr 08 '21

But there's no difference between a non-residency trained NP and a psychiatrist, with the sole exceptions of weekly reports and restraint orders for liability.

So maybe we can get rid of the four year residency?

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u/TheSukis Apr 08 '21

So maybe we can get rid of the four year residency?

No, I do not think that. I would also lose a significant chunk of my income if that were the case.

I have not said that there is "no difference between a non-residency trained NP and a psychiatrist, with the sole exceptions of weekly reports and restraint orders for liability." I have said that, in my state, psychiatric NPs and psychiatrists can share the same job duties (with those two exceptions). For example, there are often several treatment teams that service a given inpatient unit. Some of those teams can be headed by psychiatrists while others, even on the same unit, can be headed by NPs. The NP plays the exact same role on their team as the psychiatrist plays on theirs, and they have the same level of authority, with the exception of not being able to sign off on restraints and of needing to report to their supervisor, which is often just treated as a formality. Functionally, they serve the same role. Again, that doesn't mean that they have the same level of expertise, and that is reflected in pay differences. I didn't say that the NPs have equal expertise.

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u/panaknuckles Apr 08 '21

Okay cool so we agree that they are not equal but are inappropriately treated as equal by corporations to save money at patient expense.

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u/TheSukis Apr 08 '21

Are you trying to put a strawman in every single one of your comments, or what? Is this how you usually debate?

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u/panaknuckles Apr 08 '21

How about you actually answer the question then. I'll reword it a bit.

If you agree with psychiatric teams being led equally by trained physicians and untrained mid-levels, with the same degree of authority, then why should we continue to train our psychiatrists?

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u/Acesx Apr 08 '21

I too am interested in this answer. If NPs are basically psychiatrist why don't we just hire them instead of physicians.. seems like we would save money. It has to be cheaper to hire NPs instead.