February 13, 2023
Medical school matters.
There is a fundamental difference in the education and training of physicians and nurses.
Physicians have 4 years of medical school followed by 3-7 years of residency in a hospital. Nurse practitioners attend 2-3 years of nurse practitioner school, and an additional residency is not required.
Physicians undergo 10,000-16,000 hours of hands-on, in-person clinical training, compared to 500-720 required hours for nurse practitioners. Through this training, physicians learn how to properly address a wide range of complex health care issues.
Patients want their health care led by a physician who is highly educated, fully trained, and held to rigorous standards for patient safety.
There is a legislative effort in Raleigh to eliminate physician involvement in patient care. Removing physicians from the patient care team would negatively impact patient safety, lead to higher costs, and would have minimal impact on access to care. This policy proposal is bad for North Carolina patients.
The NC Patient Safety Coalition is an alliance of medical professionals that advocate for physician-led health care that protects patient safety. Learn more on our website at http://www.ncpatientsafety.com and follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ncpatientsafety and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/NCPatientSafety.