There is concern about the deterioration of nurse practitioner training, with an increase in for-profit schools that compete fiercely for student tuition dollars. These programs often boast 100% acceptance rates – anyone who applies is accepted. Students who attend programs like these complain about sub-par education including open-book tests that leave graduates inadequately prepared to care for patients. Physician Assistant training may be following a similar direction, now offering online programs.

In 1910, the medical profession faced similar scrutiny, resulting in reforms to physician training. Dr. John Lafferty discusses changes brought about by the Flexner report and the importance of standardizing education for all medical professionals. Get the book

https://www.amazon.com/Patients-Risk-…

** A personal note about Abraham Flexner. After I recorded this podcast, I downloaded the entire Flexner report and read most of it. While I was not exactly thrilled with his section on women in medicine, I was downright horrified at his section on Black physicians (and thoughts on Black people in general). While I was previously aware that Flexner expressed racist viewpoints (which we discuss in the podcast), reading his actual words, which likely express the feelings of most Americans in 1910, was chilling. Indeed, reading this section opened my eyes even more to the idea of systemic racism in medicine, and I recommend that anyone who is a skeptic read pages 179-182. – RB