To the Editor:

I’m writing in response to the current article discussing the talk over who ought to be allowed to make use of the title “physician” within the medical area (“Who Ought to Be Known as a ‘Physician’?,” Aug. 16). As a doctor, I really feel compelled to deal with a number of the claims made by Jennifer Mensik Kennedy of the American Nurses Affiliation.

Firstly, I’ve the utmost respect for nurse practitioners (NPs) and acknowledge the necessary position they play in our healthcare system. Nevertheless, it’s important to make clear the numerous variations within the training and coaching between physicians and NPs.

Ms. Mensik Kennedy’s assertion that there is “not a lot distinction” between the coaching major care docs and nurses obtain in school is deceptive. Whereas each professions bear intensive training, the depth, breadth, and period of medical coaching for physicians far exceed that of NPs.

To offer a clearer perspective, some nurse practitioner applications will be accomplished in as little as one 12 months of full-time graduate examine, typically fully on-line, and require solely 500 hours of medical coaching in drugs. In stark distinction, medical college students bear 4 years of medical faculty, which entails each classroom instruction and medical rotations throughout numerous specialties. That is adopted by a minimal of three years of residency coaching, the place they work as much as 80 hours per week, gaining hands-on expertise below the supervision of senior physicians. By the top of their coaching, physicians accumulate nicely over 10,000 medical hours of medical coaching in drugs. 

The comparability between a neurologist and a household drugs doctor, as talked about by Ms. Mensik Kennedy, can be not fully correct. Whereas the specialties differ, each forms of physicians bear the identical foundational medical coaching, adopted by a number of years-long residency applications particular to their chosen fields. The assertion that the coaching of a household drugs doctor is akin to that of a nurse practitioner ignores the various extra years of coaching, in depth medical publicity and depth of information that household physicians should purchase with the intention to be board licensed in household drugs.

In conclusion, whereas each physicians and NPs are important pillars of our healthcare system, it’s essential to acknowledge and perceive the variations of their coaching. Misrepresenting these variations does a disservice to each professions and, extra importantly, to sufferers who deserve readability when making knowledgeable choices about their care.

Thanks in your consideration to this matter. I hope this letter gives readability to your readers and fosters a extra knowledgeable dialogue on the subject.

–Sean L. Wilkes, MD, MSc
Baby and Adolescent Psychiatrist