New Survey Shows Value, Patient Satisfaction with Nurse Practitioners
Patients experience聽a high level聽of satisfaction in the medical services they receive when they have a聽nurse practitioner聽as their primary care provider. In some cases, they are happier with a聽nurse practitioner聽than they are with a medical doctor.聽This is all according to聽聽that is among the first to delve into patients鈥� opinions on聽nurse practitioners.
The results show an overwhelmingly positive reaction to the work of聽nurse practitioners.聽聽That鈥檚 great news for those seeking their聽Master of Science in Nursing 鈥撀燦urse Practitioner聽 degree. The results of the survey, coupled with a huge demand for聽nurse practitioners聽in Texas and around the country, give nurses who want to enter graduate school even more reasons to make the commitment.
What the Survey Found
Thomas Kippenbrock, a nursing professor at the University of Arkansas, led researchers on the new survey. It was undertaken because even as nursing practitioners take on bigger roles in聽family care听补苍诲听pediatrics,聽little research has been done. To obtain a large sample of opinions, Kippenrock and fellow University of Arkansas researchers looked at feedback from 53,885 patients in the聽聽survey developed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.聽The survey asks patients to rate their interactions with health providers.
The study reports that 鈥渁nalysis comparing patient experiences between providers revealed NP to be rated significantly higher than their colleagues.鈥澛營n聽聽through the University of Arkansas, Kippenrock said the research was a big step forward in showing the need for聽nurse practitioners. He said, 鈥淭he leap in this study was a large national scale investigation. Previous findings were derived from small sample sizes isolated to local community clinics. Consequently, we believe patients are highly satisfied with a聽nurse practitioners鈥櫬爌rimary care services.鈥�
Why the Study Is Important
In the study, researchers wrote that patient satisfaction with their providers can lead to better health outcomes. The findings of the study should be a signal to policymakers that more nurse practitioners should be employed in 鈥減rimary care settings and achieve greater patient satisfaction that can influence outcomes associated with patient-centered care initiatives.
That could prove most important in smaller towns, rural areas and poor urban areas that are currently underserved by medical doctors. The Kaiser Family Foundation聽聽that 58 million Americans live in places that are considered 鈥減rimary care shortage areas.鈥澛燭hat number is expected to grow as the population increases. The Kaiser study quotes from studies that project there will be a 20,000-plus shortage in primary care physicians as soon as 2020.
Nurse practitioners聽can play a huge role in closing this widening gap. As more people need medical care and fewer physicians聽are able to聽provide it, nurses who decided to become a聽nurse practitioner聽position themselves to make聽an enormous impact聽on people鈥檚 lives.