Quote:
Originally Posted by RickFLM4
I agree, which is why I want to see a doctor, not a PA or nurse practitioner, when going in for a checkup. They are fine for minor illnesses and to assist doctor. But I like talking to a doctor. I switched primary care a few years back because I never saw the doctor.
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PAs and NPs can still be decent for the initial consultation. When I was referred to my GI doc via my PCP, I saw the NP for the practice before I ever met my GI doc. I only met him the day of the colonoscopy that found the 3cm tumor in my descending colon. The NP I saw was very good at tunneling through the various questions and didn't screw around with getting me scheduled for a colonoscopy. When all of this was happening I was 42. So I could have been brushed off as having symptoms from other causes. It pains me to see case after case of young patients being brushed off with diagnoses that it's something else without just getting in there and finding out via a colonoscopy. And many of these situations were by doctors that kept thinking it's anything else but cancer.
Also, I'm a bit biased as my brother is a PA. Based on what I've seen, PAs and NPs are pretty necessary with how many practices need to run patients through per day.