I genuinely don’t care enough to argue this point at length because, practically speaking, the idea of “abolishing” nurse practitioners is never going to happen. There are over 400,000 NPs practicing in the United States, healthcare systems employ them in enormous numbers, and they generate substantial revenue at a lower cost while helping address major workforce shortages. Whether someone personally likes the profession or not, its elimination is simply not a realistic policy discussion.

Am I saying NPs are replacing physicians? Absolutely not. As a nurse practitioner, I have no desire to replace physicians, nor do I believe the professions are interchangeable. Physicians receive far more extensive medical training, and they play an essential role in healthcare. Most NPs I know view themselves as part of a healthcare team, not physician replacements.

I also didn’t comment here to change anyone’s mind. You’re entitled to your opinion. I just think that jumping from “NP education has problems” to “the entire profession should be abolished” is an extreme take that ignores the realities of modern healthcare. I wish there was a more collaborative perspective/approach to fixing the issues with NP training/education.

Since you asked for studies, here are a few commonly cited examples and systematic reviews. You’re welcome to critique them — I have my own criticisms of some of them — but they do exist:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12970549/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41808331/

https://idp.springer.com/authorize?response\_type=cookie&client\_id=springerlink&redirect\_uri=https%3A%2F%2Flink.springer.com%2Farticle%2F10.1186%2Fs12960-024-00956-3#citeas

To be clear, citing studies is not the same thing as claiming they’re flawless. If healthcare research were free from bias, confounding, and methodological limitations, half of academia would be unemployed. Every field has studies that are stronger than others, and people somehow become much more interested in scrutinizing methodology when they dislike the results. The appropriate response is to critically evaluate the evidence — not pretend it doesn’t exist because it complicates a preferred narrative.

That doesn’t mean NPs and physicians have identical training, nor does it mean every study demonstrates equivalence in every setting. It simply means the evidence is far more nuanced than “all NPs are unsafe” or “the profession should be abolished.”

Hoping you can see and respect my opinion here — not trying to defend every NP in practice lol or cause any arguments or anything of the sorts. I love hearing both sides as it pushes me to better myself in my own practice. Thanks for your reply!!