Hormone pellet therapy: Is it worth the risk?
In recent years, there has been a massive increase in medical practitioners offering hormone therapy to patients. Since insurance doesn’t cover these [...]
If you are hospitalized, will your care be overseen by a physician?
Hospital organizations are increasingly replacing physicians with nurse practitioners and physician assistants who act as "hospitalists." John Chamberlain, the board chairman of [...]
Friend of YouTube sensation Stevie Ryan speaks out about her care by psych NP
In December, Patients at Risk aired two podcasts in which we discussed the case of Gerald “Jay” Baltz, a psychiatric nurse practitioner [...]
If you need emergency medical care, will you be treated by a physician?
In our book, we discuss the case of Alexus Ochoa, a healthy 19 yr old woman who died when a nurse practitioner failed to [...]
Fighting the replacement of physicians in Texas – Audio
Nearly half the states in the Union have legislated the unsupervised practice of medicine by nurse practitioners and currently, one state allows [...]
Chiropractor-owned “neuropathy” clinic scams patient for $8000 – Audio
In our previous podcasts, we have focused on the differences in scope of practice between physicians and nurse practitioners. But other medical [...]
Should you let an optometrist operate on your eyes? The difference between ophthalmologists and optometrists – Audio
After the brain, the human eye is the most complicated organ in the body. It is for this reason that a graduating [...]
A nurse’s journey to becoming a physician: From RN, BSN, MSN, CNS, CCNP to MD – Audio
Dr. Toni Manougian has done it all. Starting as an RN diploma graduate, Dr. Manougian obtained her bachelor's in nursing, followed by [...]
Success story: How Mississippi physicians stopped NP scope expansion – Audio
Jennifer Bryan, MD, a family physician and the chair of the Board of Trustees of the Mississippi State Medical Association, discusses how [...]
Nurse practitioner describes gaps in education: “I wasn’t fully equipped like I thought I was” – Audio
Patrice Little DNP discusses limitations in nurse practitioner education and explains why she created a platform to better prepare NP students. Doctor [...]
Why “access” to poor healthcare can be more dangerous than no healthcare at all – Audio
Many advocates of nonphysician practice argue that we need to allow nurse practitioners and physician assistants to practice independently because of a [...]
NP-turned-physician discusses differences in training – Audio
Dr. Robin Rose, a family physician who trained as a nurse and then nurse practitioner discusses the differences in education and training [...]
Addressing the shortage of bedside nurses – Audio
Health policy experts note that there is a shortage of registered nurses across the nation and that 11 million nurses are needed [...]
Independent nurse practice in California – what patients – Audio
On September 29, 2020, the state of California passed AB 890, a bill allowing nurse practitioners the right to practice without physician [...]
Patient dies during routine colonoscopy after cost-cutting – Audio
In April 2020, Beaumont Health, Michigan’s largest healthcare system, made the decision to terminate its established anesthesia group in favor of Texas-based [...]
RN exposes deficiencies in NP education – and the growth of the NP ‘cash’ – Audio
In our last episode we discussed the rapid growth of nurse practitioner training programs and some of the challenges this has caused [...]
RN and former NP student exposes deficiencies in nurse – Audio
There are over 400 nurse practitioner schools in the United States, with nearly HALF of these programs promoting online training—ranging from 50-100% [...]
Standardized exams: what it takes to become a physician – Audio
The pathway to becoming a licensed physician in the United States requires nine to eleven years of formal education, and all physicians [...]
The dangers of replacing psychiatrists by psychologists – Part 2 – Audio
Psychiatrist Torie Shatzmiller Sepah MD discusses her experiences as a chief psychiatrist at the California Department of Corrections, and her role in [...]
The Dangers of Replacing Psychiatrists with Psychologists – Part 1 – Audio
Dr. Torie Shatzmiller Sepah, a practicing psychiatrist, discusses the differences between psychologists and psychiatrists, and the increasing trend of allowing psychologists to [...]
College student outgrows pediatrician, assigned to FNP who misses his life – Audio
Corinthia Davidson-French shares the story of her son's missed diagnosis of aplastic anemia after multiple visits to an FNP at the local [...]
The Differences between Psychiatrists and Psych NPs: The Case of Jay Baltz – Part 2 – Audio
Gerald "Jay" Baltz, a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner who is being investigated by the California Board of Nursing for an inappropriate [...]
Physician fired for writing op-ed explaining the differences between… – Audio
Physicians who speak out in support of physician-led care face repercussions. Steven Maron, MD, a pediatrician with 31 years of experience, was [...]
Boards of nursing fail to protect patients from dangerous nurse – Audio
Dr. Amy Townsend discusses the incredible lengths she went through to get the Texas Board of Nursing to act to stop a [...]
Cochrane’s 18 Tall Tales – Audio
Drs. Rebekah Bernard, Niran Al-Agba, and Phil Shaffer break down the 2018 Cochrane Review "Nurses as Substitutes for Physicians in Primary Care," [...]