As the name of our practice suggests, we are a group of Nurse Practitioners (NPs) working in the field of psychiatry.  By this time, almost all of us have been treated by an NP at some point when seeking medical care. There are, in fact, over 320,000 of us in the United States, and almost 3, 000 of us in New York State. You may not, however, be entirely sure of what an NP is or how an NP differs from a Medical Doctor (MD). The below is to provide a brief summary of Nurse Practitioners and the care we provide.

 

Each state varies in level of independence in the role of NP, but more and more states are permitting full independence, as did New York State with recent legislation.  New York State Education Law permits NPs to be “independently responsible for the diagnosis and treatment of their patients and does not require an NP to practice under physician supervision.” Research has well supported the role of NP in providing excellent health outcomes.  As the American Association of Nurse Practitioners note:  “NP care is comparable in quality to that of their physician colleagues, demonstrated by numerous studies that conclude no statistically significant difference across outcome measures.”   

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Almost all NPs start their education in an undergraduate nursing school.  This is where nurses begin to learn the “nursing model”.  The nursing model is regarded as “patient focused”.  That is, nurses are trained to consider both the physical and emotional health of our patients.  Clinical experience from the nurse is forged the next few years as a Registered Nurse (RN) and through completion of their undergraduate work.  A nurse becomes a Nurse Practitioner following successful completion of two years of post-graduate work, consisting of clinical internships in addition to academic work.  The majority of NPs will have had at least six years of direct patient care prior to practicing as an NP.  Some NPs continue their education and pursue degrees in either a PhD (doctorate in philosophy with a focus on clinical research) or a DNP (Doctorate in Nursing Practice with a focus on clinical work).  It is these nurses whom also receive the title of “Doctor”.  Nurse Practitioners leave their programs competent in treating the vast majority of patients in their specialty of care and, based on their experience and education, also competently treat wide spectrum of health issues including severe and complex ones.   

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It certainly is of our opinion that everyone deserves to be able to see the provider they feel best understands their concerns and can best treat them.  If what you are experiencing is rather common, chances are most clinicians with different licenses (MD, NP, PA, etc) will be able to help you.  Regardless of the type or severity of whatever it is you are seeking medical attention for, you should feel comfortable with anyone you seek out for help.  You should feel heard.  You should feel better.  That above all is the one unifying goal we all have as health care providers.  We want you to feel better.  We certainly hope you do with us.