Doctors and nurse practitioners have to stop fighting

--------------------------------------------------------------- Here are the stories you missed on KevinMD. Thank you for your continuing readership. --------------------------------------------------------------- Sponsors [New report: Part two of the Mobility Strategies in Healthcare Survey Results](. Participants see many opportunities for mobile communication improvements over the next three to five years. [Learn more](. [Health care is the top target for cybercriminals](. Once you’re hit with ransomware, it’s already too late. [Take these 3 steps NOW]( to save your practice from attacks like the recent WannaCry virus. [Is your hospital communication system trapped in the dark ages?]( Just like a medieval page boy, pagers are annoying and inefficient. This leads to delayed patient care, frustrated providers, and potential HIPAA breaches. Learn why you need to ditch your [Page Boy]( today. [Infographic]( 57% of physicians are dissatisfied with current communication methods. [Learn more](. --------------------------------------------------------------- KevinMD Today: Jun. 8, 2017 [MD vs. DNP: 20,000 hours make a difference]( As Southern states entertain legislation granting nurse practitioners independent practice rights, there are some finer details which deserve careful deliberation. While nurse practitioners are intelligent, capable, and contribute much to our healthcare system, they are not physicians and lack the same training and knowledge base. They should not identify themselves as “doctors” despite having a […] [Doctors and nurse practitioners have to stop fighting]( “Choose your battles carefully,” goes the old saying. My physician colleagues would do well to heed that advice. For the past several years, physicians in many states have been engaged in battles with nurse practitioners in their respective states who are seeking to remove antiquated regulations. These regulations preclude nurse practitioners from practicing to the […] [How can relationships survive medical school applications?]( Medical school applications can raise big hairy questions about the long-term potential and trajectory of your relationship as well as the question of whether you get a say in where the applicant applies and attends medical school. For some, the timing of these questions arises in synchrony with the relationship’s natural progression that is at […] --------------------------------------------------------------- [An inspiring KevinMD keynote]( will make your event memorable. "Kevin's keynote presentation at our annual members meeting was perfect. Extremely rich in content, and a delivery that is world class." [Visit Kevin's new speaking page]( to find out more. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Overweight patients are not necessarily lazy]( My nurse practitioner was pleased to see me at my annual physical this year. “So how does it feel to be 20 pounds lighter?” “It feels terrible,” I replied. Allow me to explain. Weight has been an issue my entire life. Raised on a standard Midwest diet of complex carbohydrates and the best processed delicacies […] [She didn’t want to be seen by a gay doctor]( Amidst the mid-morning rush at clinic, I’m saying goodbye to a patient whose visit just concluded. In the corner of my eye, I see a woman sitting in the area where patients wait after they have gotten their vitals. She is shifting continuously in her seat. Suddenly, the woman springs up out of her chair […] [How Trumpcare affects this medical student]( I’m a medical student. I spend every day of my life considering the well-being of my future patients, and the detrimental impact that various health care policy proposals will have. I’m not going to lie. The ACA has problems. It’s not perfect, and I won’t wave the flag and pretend it’s the greatest thing ever. […] [Patience for patients: Good things come to doctors who wait]( It happens to us all. I was frustrated with one of my patients about two years ago, angered because she did not want to help herself. She kept requesting help for her mental disorder, and when the help was given, she would literally run away. She would start then stop taking a medication that even […] [Care for patients with limited English proficiency begins with medical interpretation]( Mr. O was my new patient but had been known to our practice for several years. He was 74 years old. He had been complaining of “dizziness” for some time. He came in for his visit accompanied by his home health aide. He was born in the Dominican Republic, and he spoke Spanish with limited […] [Doctors, we need to start making our own tools]( I scream in frustration as the flickering screen creates another required check box. Silently of course. I am on the hospital ward, and broadcasting the doctor’s frustration will not help patients or nurses. “Who created this tool?” I wonder for the thousandth time. Why don’t doctors make their own tools? Contemporary philosopher Daniel Dennett ponders […] [Overpowering the glass ceiling will take more than outnumbering men in the field]( I was recently on an off-service rotation and one morning as I entered a patient’s room that had been admitted to our service, I overheard the patient quickly tell the person they were talking to on the phone, “Hey, can I call you back? My nurse just walked in to talk with me.” For a […] [Science is the way out of the opioid overdose epidemic. Not stigma.]( The opioid overdose epidemic was the centerpiece of U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price, MD’s West Virginia listening tour recently. While the tour was billed as an opportunity to gain knowledge on the epidemic, his response to his observations illustrates just how difficult it is to change attitudes and beliefs with information […] [Reflections from the other side: A commencement address]( A commencement address to the University of Louisville School of Medicine, Class of 2017. It is my great honor to give the commencement address for the UofL SOM class of 2017. Twenty-eight years ago, I graduated from medical school, and I remember the overwhelming sense of pride and accomplishment in finishing medical school, the relief of […] [5 myths about emergency physician groups]( Independent physician groups and solo physicians have been the historic bedrock of medical practice. While it is true that there is intense pressure on the single-physician group, and this market is shrinking, independent physicians are here to stay. Some single practice physician groups may merge with larger groups, some physicians will break off from the […] [A medical student volunteers for a medical brigade to rural Panama]( Holding a small bottle of soap and an even smaller wand, I painstakingly blew air through the small circle toward a shabby window in an even shabbier classroom. Bubbles rose and fell with the rhythms of my breath. I created a long chain of bubbles that eventually took over the room, and the hot and […] [Will California be the third strike against single payer?]( Single-payer health care remains the holy grail for Democrats seeking the ultimate in command and control government. Wealth redistribution on a previously unimaginable scale. The nanny state government controlling all aspects of everyone’s life, as few human activities don’t influence health in some way. Congressional Democrats are locked and loaded with federal legislation expanding Medicare to […] [Imagining a world where Amazon runs hospitals]( The medicine model has changed since our predecessors practiced medicine in the days of Dr. William Osler. These days, medicine is a commercialized industry. The hospital makes this clear by prioritizing charting and patient satisfaction over patient care. Also, patients are accountable for making it feel this way. Some patients want to dictate their care […] [A nurse was raped and tortured at her hospital. Here’s what you can do to help.]( A inmate, while a patient at Delnor Hospital in surburban Chicago, escaped and took two nurses hostage. One of nurses was raped and tortured at gunpoint. There is little mention of this horrific story in mainstream media. Violence against health care workers cannot remain silent. ZDoggMD recently spoke with this individual, who shared her story. #silentnomore Please send your […] [This is what it’s like to be a military physician]( After another long shift of patients with colds, bug bites, ankle sprains and sore throats I eagerly looked through the wine selection at the local grocery store. It was my wedding anniversary and nearing 9 p.m. at the beginning of a holiday weekend. While at the checkout line, an elderly woman in front of me […] --------------------------------------------------------------- You are receiving this email because you subscribed to the KevinMD e-newsletter. If a friend sent you this email and you want to subscribe, go to [KevinMD](. --------------------------------------------------------------- 173 Daniel Webster Highway Nashua, New Hampshire 03062 [Unsubscribe]( | [Change Subscriber Options](