125,000 solutions to the primary care shortage

The American Academy of Nurse Practitioners is celebrating National Nurse Practitioner Week (Nov. 8-14) with a new slogan:  125,000 Solutions to the Primary Care Shortage.
With many experts predicting healthcare reform to increase demand for medical services – in a country already short on primary care doctors – the Academy is letting the world know that nurse practitioners are ready to step into the void.

Nurse practitioners are licensed and hold prescriptive authority in all fifty states.  92% of nurse practitioners hold national certification; 39% have hospital privileges, while 13% have long-term care privileges.  They specialize in everything from family care to women’s health and geriatrics.

While nurse practitioners are relatively new to the healthcare scene – the 1^st NPs were educated at the University of Colorado in 1965 – scores of research studies have shown that nurse practitioners consistently provide high-quality, cost-effective and personalized care.

Sources:  http://www.aanp.org/AANPCMS2

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