Young people needing medical assessment and treatment are identified and if I am unavailable these clients are taken to local GPs. It is difficult for me to understand why the AMA is involved in a demarcation dispute with nurse practitioners. Spokespeople for the AMA have contended that nurse practitioners will provide an inferior service made more costly by mistakes, and that they cannot be effective because a nurse's training is to make observations not judgments. Far from providing an inferior service, a range of studies suggest that suitably trained and assisted nurse practitioners can perform as well as, if not better than, doctors in diverse areas. The assertion that nurses cannot make judgments simply ignores reality.
Nurses routinely make judgments and management decisions.
These do not only concern nursing care but also judgments such as when to call a doctor, give p.r.n. Presumably what nurses do want is a greater range of career choices, a little more autonomy and status, and some different responsibilities whilst still having medical backup available. Most doctors are busy, particularly those working in areas of need, and increasing the availability of nurse practitioners offers the chance to improve our own working conditions. Many rural GPs have recognized this and are lobbying, with success, for the AMA and colleges to soften their stances against more diverse roles for nurse practitioners. Nurses are prepared to work in areas, both geographical and clinical, that are inadequately serviced by doctors.