So, this article professes “organized medicine’s shameful attacks on high-quality nurse practitioner (NP) care amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.” This statement in the article is a lie. The lies must stop. There is no shameful attack on NP’s. Here’s the irony. NP groups are using this pandemic crisis to push for full practice authority (FPA) yet accuse organized medicine of using the pandemic to bash NPs. It’s basic psychology 101 – classic projection. Accuse the other group of doing what you yourself are doing: using the pandemic of self-serving gains. Sophia L. Thomas, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, PPCNP-BC, FNAP, FAANP says:

“It is unfortunate that during an unprecedented global pandemic, when millions of patients still lack access to care, physician groups have chosen to attack well-qualified NPs,”

No we have not Sophia, we’re sick and tired of your relentless lie that the only way to increase access to care is through NPs. We’re tired of the push based on the false notion that NP’s can replace physicians. This is a strawman argument for FPA. A lie. It’s actually a physician problem to solve, not a nursing problem. There is a bedside nursing shortage. Why don’t you focus your attention on the nursing shortage as a nurse and let physicians focus on the physician shortage?

More projection where Sophia says “The positions taken by organized medicine are physician-centered, not patient-focused.” Now here you have Sophia accusing physicians as being self-centered, where in reality it is her and her NP group that are self-centered for FPA. This has nothing to do with access to care. This is all about FPA. 

More BS: “AANP will continue to join with policymakers and institutions at the state and federal levels to call for the removal of barriers restricting patients’ access to NP care.” Here’s what’s wrong here, trying to legislate increased scope of practice for NPs through legislation and not education like what physicians have to do to train in a specialty. And there are two lies in this statement. Its rhetoric talking points: (1) “barriers” physician collaboration is not a barrier. You can’t cross lanes into another discipline and think you can practice in this other discipline without collaboration or supervision from within the discipline. How arrogant to think you can come into our discipline and practice medicine with no oversight from practitioners who have been trained and educated in medicine. (2) And the 2^nd lie in this statement is that collaboration is restricting patients’ access to NP care.  Physician collaboration does not impede access to care! Another lie talking point that sounds good to garner nothing more than emotional support. 

Yet another talking point: “NPs, who are shown to increase access to care in rural areas.” This myth has been debunked and is nothing more than more lying rhetoric. Studies show the opposite that NP’s don’t in fact go to rural areas any more than physician’s do. 

And of course, an article from the AANP wouldn’t be complete without stating “outdated regulations and allow NPs to practice to the full extent of their education and training” What does this even mean? As a former NP, I could never figure out what this means. The education and training of NPs has markedly declined and is very concerning with all the cheap no admission standard diploma mills. To think that shoddy education is justification for FPA is just plain idiocy. 

The lies need to stop!!