Assignent Solutionnurs

Discussion1—Should the gap be filled by a major substitution of nurse practitioners, physician assistants, chiropractors, acupuncturists, and others, or are there alternatives?
The sad unfortunate truth is we currently live in an era where there are shortages in professions every where we turn. When the shortages begin to affect the health and lives of individuals, families, and communities where do we turn to receive the necessary care. Some practices are filling gaps of physician shortages with other health care providers such as nurse practitioners, physician assistants, chiropractors, and others who have a degree of health is some way. Other practices are allowing these professionals to practice independently without physician oversight. Is this enough to make up for the physician shortage? The answer is no! Research has shown allowing nonphysicians to practice without physician involvement does not guarantee more access to care (Robeznieks, 2022).
There is no denying the fact our health care system, the entire system, needs to be overhauled. With the shortages of physicians on the rise, nurse practitioners and physician assistants can aid in providing care, but a physician still needs to oversee the care provided. There is no comparison to the amount of time physicians spend in training, they have additional clinical training that nurse practitioners and physician assistants do not have, leading to gaps in their medical knowledge (Robeznieks, 2022). A team approach to providing care can aid in a physician oversight and less stress on the physician to see and care for a large number of patients. Another resourceful way to decrease the load on physicians, but ensure they are able to provide oversight of care is with the increased use of telemedicine. Covid definitely took telemedicine to an entirely new level, of course nothing compares to hands and/or in person care, but sometimes an alternative is better than nothing at all. While there is no correct or perfect solution to solving the shortage of physicians that are practicing in the United States, it may be possible to reach the goal by combining multiple solutions. However, the physician shortage is predicted to worsen (Zhang et al., 2020). Because more patients have access to health insurance and healthcare, more individuals are utilizing the physicians and resources that are available (Zhang et al, 2020). This increase in resource utilization has impacted the physician shortage that the United States already faces. Add to that, that the population of the United States is increasing, and it seems to make the situation worse (Zhang et al., 2020). Multiple studies have predicted that the shortage of physicians is going to increase over the years, as the population gets older, and grows (Norful et al., 2018).
Discussion 2– While there are individuals that frown upon the utilization of nurse practitioners, physician assistants, chiropractors, and acupuncturists, these health professionals have assisted in being able to provide care to assist in filling the gap. While not all states allow nurse practitioners to practice independently, they are still able to assist physicians in attending to a patient population (Norful et al., 2018). This same statement is true for physician assistants as well. Patients are being seen and treated, because nurse practitioners and physician assistants are providing care to patients that need to be seen. For minor injuries and illnesses, advanced practitioners should be able to step up and assist in filling the physician gap.
By advance practitioners being able to provide care to patients, it does take a workload off of the physicians. However, this does not completely solve the shortage problem. Medical schools could adjust their classes sizes, making more students able to be accepted into the programs at a time (Zhang et al., 2020). While this may not instantly have an effect on the gap of physicians, it could have an impact over a period of time (Zhang et al., 2020). The process of closing the physician gap is going to take multiple attempts and a length of time, if it is going to be done. Many factors will have to be influenced in order for the gap to begin to close. Many entities will have to be involved, including medical schools and the government, as well as advanced practitioners. If the gap is not closed, or filled by other healthcare providers, the patient care will begin to be impacted (Zhang et al., 2020).