Year 12s: what will be the first way you research your future options? >>

Family Practice taken over by NPs?

Future.MD

Will this happen? Should this happen?

Reply 1

bittr n swt

No way they don't know as much as doctors.

Reply 2

Helenia

No, and no.

But UK General Practice seems to be somewhat different from US "Family Practice," which I think is what you're basing your assumptions on, so I don't think the comparison is totally straightforward.

Or maybe PA's

Original post by Helenia

I am not familiar with US practice, what is the difference?

Reply 5

Ronove

Original post by Future.MD

I am not familiar with US practice, what is the difference?

Are you familiar with UK General Practice? Because your other posts elsewhere suggest you're not. Would you have accepted Helenia's point had she said Canadian Family Practice instead? Because I suspect you would not.

Reply 6

Future.MD

Original post by Ronove

and I have learned nothing. Why not spend that time educating me instead of antagonizing me? :s-smilie:

Reply 7

Ronove

Original post by Future.MD

and I have learned nothing. Why not spend that time educating me instead of antagonizing me? :s-smilie:

Because I'm a brainwashed pinko idiot and you'll disregard everything I say like you did in the other thread...

Reply 8

Helenia

Original post by Future.MD

I am not familiar with US practice, what is the difference?

Fine, Canadian/North American Family Practice, if you want to be pedantic. You really don't help yourself on here, you know?

In the UK, GPs are responsible for much more of their patients' primary healthcare. They are the first port of call for almost every health problem, whereas across the Atlantic my impression is that people see specialists much more frequently. UK GPs deal with, for example, most basic paediatric or gynaecological problems without referral to a specialist, whereas I understand most people across the pond would see a paediatrician/gynaecologist much more readily, therefore GPs have a broader knowledge base in those sorts of areas. They also deal with a lot of chronic disease management (hypertension, diabetes, heart disease etc) without/with minimal specialist involvement.

There are some aspects of the job which a NP could do, and their role is expanding, but I don't think we'll see them taking over the traditional GP role.

Reply 9

Etomidate

*General practice

There are some parts of the job that can be/are done by an NP. But I think, as has already been said, there is smaller scope for it due to the way in which general practitioners work in the UK. Here, GPs would be expected to instigate (hospital level) investigations and manage up to the first, second, even third+ line treatments before referring to a specialist. This combined with the fact that most GPs have a special interest which allow them to perform near specialist standard (if not at that standard).

NPs could be used to triage a dynamic appointment list, allocating appropriate appointments where indicated while dealing with the time wasters.

But no, an NP could never replace a GP as they are the gatekeepers into very expensive and high demand secondary care. We need highly trained/experienced doctors on the front line to manage problems in the community as opposed to overwhelming the secondary care system with endless referrals.

I suspect NPs would be a false economy.

Reply 10

Future.MD

Original post by Helenia

In the UK, GPs are responsible for much more of their patients' primary healthcare. They are the first port of call for almost every health problem, whereas across the Atlantic my impression is that people see specialists much more frequently. UK GPs deal with, for example, most basic paediatric or gynaecological problems without referral to a specialist, whereas I understand most people across the pond would see a paediatrician/gynaecologist much more readily, therefore GPs have a broader knowledge base in those sorts of areas. They also deal with a lot of chronic disease management (hypertension, diabetes, heart disease etc) without/with minimal specialist involvement.

There are some aspects of the job which a NP could do, and their role is expanding, but I don't think we'll see them taking over the traditional GP role.