Letters to the Editor
Re: “When the Nurses Wants to be Called ‘Doctor’” By: Gardiner Harris
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/02/health/policy/02docs.html?_r=2&ref=health&pagewanted=all
October 3, 2011
Dear Editor,
A few days ago, you reported on the trend of nurses pursuing their doctorate in nursing in order to gain the title of “doctor” rather than just having the title of a registered nurse. This article is particularly timely and relevant giving the nursing shortage in the US, which is projected to be at 250,000 vacant RN positions by 2025 with an increase in the retirement of the baby boomers (Buerhaus, Auerbach, Staiger 664).
As a public health student, I think that this article ignores the issues of why nurses are getting doctorates in order to get the “doctor privileges” in the first place. What people might not realize is that this article frames the issue by putting blame on individual nurses for possibly tarnishing the “doctor” title, as brought up in the article by the board chairman of the American Academy of Family Physicians. One thing that could really make a difference is promoting the expansion of primary care among nurses, since there is also a primary care physician shortage. This would not only address the addressed issue of changing the implications of the “doctor” title, but also allow nurses to expand their scope of practice and address the shortage in primary care physicians in the US.
Sincerely
Jessica Lin
Works Cited
Buerhaus, Peter, David Auerbach, Douglas Staiger. “The Recent Surge in Nurse Employment: Causes and Implications.” Nurse Employment. Vol.28 No.4: 2009. w657-w668
It's such a coincidence that I had the same experience yesterday at the Tang Center as the lady in the article. The nurse that I saw introduced herself as Dr. X (name will remain anonymous) but I didn't realize that she was a nurse until I saw her certificate on the wall. It did not bother me that she was a nurse but I was just confused by her title and had mistaken her for a doctor. This issue was also a major concern that was brought up in the article.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jessica that instead of framing the issue as nurses blemishing the "doctor" title with their doctorate degrees, we should definitely focus on how these nurses can make up for the shortage of primary care doctors. However, in the long run, I believe that this will only exacerbate the problem of the increasing vacant RN positions.
This is not an easy issue to tackle because doctors who go through medical school and residency for eight years or more do not want to only become primary care doctors. Similarly, nurses who pursue doctorate degrees do not want to only work as a RN. Unfortunately, we still have not figured out how to address the need for more primary care physicians in the US. How can we then even begin to deal with the lack of RNs now and in the future if it's becoming more desirable for nurses to obtain doctorate degrees?