by Nurse practitioners are advanced-practice nurses who have plenty of tasks and authorizations.
They can diagnose patients, treat them, and prescribe medications.
The state regulations determine whether the nurse practitioner is allowed to work individually or with physicians.
Some states require that a nurse practitioner sign a collaborative agreement to be able to practice.
The collaborative agreement is a comprehensive document that defines a joint practice between NP and MD.
The document describes the involved parties, date, scope of practice, and prescribing.
Additionally, the document includes review requirements and requirements for physician ability.
Each state determines the scope of practice, and therefore the amount of time that MD and NP spend working together.
In certain US states, NPs can work independently, have their own practice, run their medical clinics, and prescribe medications.
In other states, a physician oversees the NP practice and occasionally do a documentation review.
The third model requires having physicians on-site or available via telephone communication.
If you are a nurse practitioner in any state, you should feel comfortable working with physicians if you need to.
For example, when an NP faces a challenging case, he or she can contact the physician to ensure that a patient gets the best possible treatment according to the patient’s needs.
In most of the cases, nurse practitioners and physicians have respectful relationships.
Physicians appreciate the high education and skills in providing quality care to patients.
The most common situations in which NP and physician work together, regardless of the state regulations, include test results interpretation and deciding on actions needed.
They assess clinically unstable patients together and collaborate on medication prescribing, and about physical exam findings.
These are just a few situations in which collaboration between a nurse practitioner and physicians.
Also, nurse practitioners can learn a lot from working closely with physicians.
Physicians have wide experience in treating many conditions and facing different challenges, so nurse practitioners can improve their practical skills and theoretical knowledge.
Nurse Practitioner VS. Physician Assistant