Friday 30 January 2009

Doctor Knows Best!


I read a worrying story recently. A child who was symptomatic of meningitis appears to have been refused admission to a paediatric unit because she was seen by a Nurse Practitioner and not a GP. More worryingly when she was seen by a GP, he appears to have missed the symptoms and she did not receive treatment until the following day.
As an NP I find it reasonably easy to admit to our local hospital and refer to clinics. I am aware that some of my colleagues have some difficulty in referring their patients to secondary care and this needs to be addressed. Hopefully some good will come out of the investigations into this particular case and there will be improved access to services for patients.

I do find the premise that only doctor's can diagnose illness a little dated, and in this case, a little flawed.

11 comments:

Unknown said...

It happens here as well. I have to send my patients to the ER and hope that they are smart enough to pick up the real problem.

Anonymous said...

A sad commentary for the state of health care for sure. This story describes the quintessential pompus arrogance that medicne has had towards nursing for decades and it needs to stop. After working in an ER setting for many years now and working with advanced practice nurses I wish I could say this is the first time I have heard and seen this type of turf war nonsense take place, but I can't.

Area Trace No Search said...

I agree - when obvious diagnoses are made, it is just typical that the beaurocracy of public sector kicks in.

Very similar things on our side as well mind.

Unknown said...

It is a hard spot to be in. It leaves you divided and constantly asking "what if" as each situation passes by. nurses have the most strength and deserve to get more credibility.

Unprofessional Nurse said...

I haven't ever had any problems admitting a patient to hospital, but have across plenty that do - putting patients at unecessary risk. In this situation I would hate to be the one refusing admission based on a title rather than clinical assessment findings, especially if it went pear shaped

yamiblue990 said...

you might want to try and get a different link to the story. because it isn't showing up in Firefox at all though the rest of the page for the link seems to show perfectly fine. i do agree with you that nurse practitioners can diagnose just as well as doctors. it's sad to hear how so many places refuse to acknowledge that dr's aren't the only ones who can diagnose. just because the schooling doesn't take as long is no reason to discount one as not being able to do their job. sorry for rambling but i do enjoy your blog even if i'm usually just lurking

Unknown said...

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Nurse and Hospital Stories said...

"I do find the premise that only doctor's can diagnose illness a little dated, and in this case, a little flawed."

I agree. Nurses can also diagnose illness and at some point even could diagnose faster and more accurate than doctors did. :)

Take care,
Peny@nursing uniforms

CNA Classes said...

Yes, it usually happened in every hospital, clinics. We all agree that only Doctor knows the Best and worst of the illness.

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