[PR1234]

Anyone know of a good female NP?? Used to use 'Sylvia' but she is now in with Dr. Pead and you have to see him first to get into her. His first available appt isn't until August! I find that NP's usually give you more time and are more attentive to your needs.

[borjo]

Patricia at Dr. Rivers office....thorough.

[blueash]

This interests me. I have worked with many NPs and PAs and they, in my experience, have exactly the same amount of time allocated per visit as the MD. What is it that creates the perception that they give you more time? It is possible that sometimes the doctor has additional administrative duties and answering phone calls during the day which may cut into the patient care time. Additionally the NP typically has 6 years of training post high school with the 2 year masters training with some of that two years being classroom and some patient care. The data I found is that the NP gets about 1000 total hours of clinical care training. The MD has a minimum of 11 years after high school with 5 years of clinical training between the clinical 2 years of medical school and the minimum 3 years of residency. The combined clinical hours actually dealing with patients is at least 15,000 hours. The degree of training is hugely different.
http://www.aafp.org/online/etc/media...NP-UPDATED.pdf
Perhaps that doesn't translate into patient satisfaction. I do suspect there is a personality difference in those who chose to put themselves through the rigor of medical school and those that don't. The intensity and focus and ability to delay gratification may mean some lesser people skills than those that chose the far less intense pathway.