As a health care professional, you are well aware of the challenges experienced by communities whose needs are not being fully met and for whom the recruitment and retention of new physicians seems a Herculean task. Read on to discover the ways in which many Minnesota communities have met their health care needs. We look forward to hearing from you.
Nurse practitioners are good for the community and good for business.
I n Aitkin, the practice of using nurse practitioners and physician assistants is almost as old as Main Street. The team quickly educated its patients about the type of services that could be provided by physician assistants and nurse practitioners, in effect sowing the seeds for acceptance of a progressive health care approach that is being reaped and harvested today. The first physician assistant was a female who quickly developed a strong following among women in the community. Women in Aitkin and surrounding areas struck up a near instant rapport with the new physician assistant and found that they could more comfortably communicate personal medical details, leading to better overall care. This favorable experience with a less traditional health care provider, combined with additional exposure to nurse practitioners from St. Scholastica's internship program, encouraged Aitkin to include more nurse practitioners into the health care provider mix.