I think US doctors, based soley on greed, are to blame for the shortages of US doctors.
It is the fault of such groups as the AMA that midlevels were ever permitted to exist, and in the near future there will be a fight over jobs.
As I said somewhere, I think it was PM, when the system eventually rights itself, midlevels will be on the block. They simply bloat an already overtaxed system, they do not provide the underserved care they clamed to be for in any great number.
I also stand by my statement that it is only through greed and political maneuvering that mid-levels have what they do. It is certainly not for their incredible medical knowledge and outstanding patient care.
In order to recieve a license and practice medicine, the WHO developed a world accepted minimum education. Those who meet this minimum standard, enjoy the social and professional benefits of being a doctor. Along with the responsibilities.
Mid levels do not meet this minimum but instead claim to be cheaper and easier to produce.
Then following the same "evidence based" epidemiological guidlines as all techs, they demonstrate that they can follow them just as well as doctors from a hands on perspective.
But me wrenching on a car doesn't make me a mechanic. Even though I did take a cheaper and shorter vocational class in highschool for it, rather than pay a community or votech and spend longer in school and supervised practice. I might even wrench as good as somebody that did and I certainly am cheaper than taking your car to a real mechanic.
Keep telling yourself how good you are and how equal to the world wide minimum you are despite not meeting that requirement. Tell your parents you are as good as a doctor even though doctors in 3rd world countries have more education and training than you do.
Don't forget to tell those politicians in California, which incidentally amplifies an already shortage of doctors with its crazy licensing and recognition requirements, that with 1/2 the training, you can do the same thing a doctor can and you want paid the same. Because you are just as good and worth it.
Tell your patients too. About the same time you tell them you are treating them like a number despite the desire and scientific advances towards individual care.
But f course they told you in PA school that you didn't need all that molecular biology, biochemistry, work because you are going to perform the guidline treatment and if it doesn't work refer them to somebody who really can help them.
Also make sure to tell them that you are billing for your "treatment" and if they had gone to see a doctor to begin with, she could have helped whether they fell into the guidline or not.
That is why you keep citing simple studies. Anyone who understands medical research is not fooled. Direct cause and effect in human body can onl be discovered by selective experimentation.
The body is an electrical current in a water medium, a very large interconnected soup each with different ingedients. You must be far smarter and more capable than I am to figure out all the things I have about medicine in your 2 year PA program. Perhaps it is my retardation that has kept me in school so long? I did put forth considerable effort to be just as good as a PA.
But then again, I did meet the world recognized minimum standards for my position. PAs, NPs, CRNAs?
Nope.