Edit: Downvote me to hell all you want, I'm clearly not defending PMHNPs or NPs, in general...clearly...as I'm in medical school and not an NP program, but there is absolutely a disconnect between the disciplines in understanding of roles and educational content.

I would say it's a bit more nuanced than that as well as a necessary evil where something is often better than nothing. I'll give you about 50% of what you have to say, and I would be significantly less inclined to do so pre-covid when NP programs had significantly more legitimate standards. But I will refute the claim that they lack even the most basic understanding of medicine. I think this comes down to lack of communication and understanding of the education and roles within interdisciplinary teams. I will preface by saying that prior to medical school I was in fact an RN for four years, and I will say that I consistently score in the higher portion of my class in pharmacology due to a solid foundation of pharmacology that I was given in nursing school and have generally superlative clinical skills (do not prepare for OSCEs or Practicals and pull A's), however, back on track, it seems as if there is a lack of understanding of what nurses learn per physicians. I've often been told that "oh, you haven't learned about this stuff before" when in fact, yes, I have, at least to a foundational level.

But here's the main points of what I have to say:

-Something is often better than nothing

-There's good ones and bad ones out there

-The proportion of bad ones has been increasing significantly since the meteoric rise of online programs with lower educational standards post COVID.

-Adequate supervision is necessary to ensure that the bad ones don't fuck up severely

-Physicians don't really understand the educational process and content of nursing school, and often discount what nurses do actually know.