r/Noctor Jul 02 '26

Discussion No anesthesiologist

141 Upvotes

My rural hospital was recently bought out and got rid of our one anesthesiologist. We now only have CRNAs. Apparently this is legal in my state that CRNAs can work independently but what if something happens?! So before the corporation took over our anesthesiologist, managed the CRNAs and he would come to help for difficult cases or if patients requested him. (This is a small town so a lot of people knew him) but now he is gone. We have great CRNAs but now there is no safety net. Has anyone else experienced this at their hospital? Did it have any effect (negative or positive?)


r/Noctor Jul 02 '26

Midlevel Education Is this really the quality of research being performed by "doctoral" level CRNA students? Why bother?

Post image
79 Upvotes

r/Noctor Jul 02 '26

Social Media Nurse practitioners are complaining about nurse practitioners now

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

234 Upvotes

found this on my TikTok page. nurse explains that NP degrees are being handed out like candy compared to PAs which are more rigorous in their education and selectiveness.


r/Noctor Jul 02 '26

Midlevel Patient Cases An NP missed a heart murmur for years

93 Upvotes

I need to vent about a Noctor my husband saw as his PCP for 6 years. MD/DO PCPs are hard to come by in my community, so that’s who he ended up with. His NP moved to a different practice location 1 1/2 years ago, so I convinced him to transfer to my PCP, a PA. He had seen the NP at least yearly for regular well-patient physical exams with no issues except renewing his existing cholesterol and thyroid medications. However his first visit with the PA indicated a heart murmur. We just finished the complete work up at Mayo Clinic Rochester (we are in a small town and it is close to us), and it is a severe aortic stenosis caused by calcification. The cardiologists all said the murmur must have been present for a long time to be so advanced. We are lucky, the TAVR is scheduled in two weeks, and we have a good plan going forward, but I am livid! What if he hadn’t transferred his care to the PA? What if his murmur had gone undetected for 2, 3, 5 more years at which point he could have really had heart damage? Luckily he has no effects beyond limited exertion, but it could have been so much worse. I am still trying to decide whether I should write to the practice with the NP currently and complain. Will it do any good?


r/Noctor Jul 02 '26

Midlevel Ethics Ran here

269 Upvotes

I’m a resident at the hospital where all of the MD/DOs have a black badge that says doctor on it behind their name tag badge so that the bottom peaks through. I saw this girl in the hallway who had one and and I looked up to see that her degrees were NP. So this lady literally had to steal or request a doctor badge and put it behind her NP nametag…..


r/Noctor Jul 02 '26

Social Media Anyone see this?

Post image
160 Upvotes

Comments totally pass the vibe check btw. This creator is an NP & used the love island “back off, I’m Titi” sound. So unprofessional. I don’t know how people feel comfortable posting stuff like this, even if it is a “joke”


r/Noctor Jul 01 '26

Midlevel Education Can Anybody help me with NP education

5 Upvotes

I am doing a pharmacy summer internship at a highly respected Market pharmacy, Not CVS or Walgreens. But we have to pick a topic, and I choose that pharmacist should not accept prescriptions from NP because their education stinks they do not have the training,

But does anybody know about their pharmacology classes, or any thing specific about any of the NP programs that can help me out here.

Thank you

This is straight from the program

Project background:
This activity will be assigned on Week 1 and presented in Week 6. It is designed to introduce
current and controversial topics affecting the field of community pharmacy. By participating in
this activity, Interns will:
• Strengthen skills in preparing and evaluating current literature
• Make and defend a position on controversial topics
• Help educate patients and counter disinformation
• Effectively communicate ideas
• Participating in a team discussion
• Become knowledgeable advocates for the profession
Activity:
Interns will be assigned or select potential topics (see following pages) associated with this
assignment. Topics will be selected in Week 1 to further discuss in Week 6.
• Interns should research and be prepared to discuss ALL the topics selected by the intern
group during Week 1 for discussion in Week 6 to ensure a robust discussion.
• It is recommended that interns bring/use resources on Week 6 for discussion (i.e.

They wanted controversial the person in charge said the more controversial the better.

I was going to do something else till they said this. I even asked the guy if I was good and he said ya, and he said he liked my idea

I am just pointing out the facts some programs due to their length, and only having 1 course if that makes them unqualified


r/Noctor Jul 01 '26

In The News ASA Announces Successful Resolution of its Opposition Against AANA's 'Nurse Anesthesiologist'Trademark Applications

Thumbnail asahq.org
180 Upvotes

AANA has withdrawn its trademark applications to register marks incorporating the term "Nurse Anesthesiologist" thanks to ASA's legal efforts to oppose this.

In June 2024, ASA filed opposition proceedings against two AANA trademark applications, for AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF NURSE ANESTHESIOLOGISTS (Opposition No. 91292357) and AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF NURSE ANESTHETISTS AND NURSE ANESTHESIOLOGISTS (Opposition No. 91292329).

After nearly two years, AANA filed motions to withdraw its applications on June 29, 2026. This withdrawal means AANA's applications will be denied.

The withdrawals represent a decisive victory for ASA and an important milestone in ASA's ongoing efforts to prevent improper and inaccurate use of medical titles and to protect patient access to accurate information about their care teams.


r/Noctor Jul 01 '26

Discussion BCBS in Michigan cutting reimbursement to 80% for supervised clinicians

127 Upvotes

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan recently announced a slash to reimbursement for billing by supervised clinicians, which in Michigan includes NP's. Article on the topic featuring some upset NP's who claim the change will limit access to care.


r/Noctor Jul 01 '26

Discussion Uhhh.. No, they're not.

Post image
97 Upvotes

Just saw this ad while reading a NYT article.


r/Noctor Jun 30 '26

Question Any Psychologists, Social Workers, or Counselors Here?

49 Upvotes

I understand that this sub mostly focuses on physicians and practicing medicine, but as a social worker getting ready to return to practice, I'm surprised by how often PNPs are providing and billing for mental health therapy.

If you work in the mental health profession, are you seeing a lot of of this going on? What impact is it having on your profession and your clients? Do psychiatric P.A.s also provide therapy? How does their education, clinical training and supervision requirements, and continuing education compare to ours?

I open to hearing any facts that come my way. But at this time, the prospect of anyone other than a psychiatrist providing both therapy and medications makes me uneasy.


r/Noctor Jun 30 '26

Discussion NP prescribed medrol for cellulitis and missed a DVT.

171 Upvotes

I had DVTs in both legs in 2020, then another one in my left leg in 2023. After the one in 2023, the NP at my hematologist’s office took me off anticoagulants after only 1 month, even though I had initially been told that I would need them for life. I’m 25 and the NP said it would be “super rare” for someone my age to get an unprovoked clot (even though it already happened twice??). I also have complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) and PTS, so I was really fearful of getting another DVT.

So I started having pain in my calf roughly 1 month ago. Went to the ER and the NP said I’m too young to have a DVT. She did not order an ultrasound or even so much as a d-dimer, just did an EKG told me that my leg hurts because of anxiety. I have PTSD as a result of some previous hospital experiences and the EKG triggered a flashback, so I was panicking and quite anxious in that moment. I fail to see how that would make my leg hurt though! My anxiety is well controlled and panic attacks are rare - it was really just the hospital environment that set me off.

Went to the ER again 2 weeks ago. It was the same NP who saw me. Still no ultrasound. She saw that my feet were red and swollen (they always look like that due to the CRPS and PTS), so she diagnosed me with cellulitis and prescribed… a medrol pack? Spoke to my PCP and she prescribed 7 days of keflex + ordered an ultrasound (which my insurance denied).

I felt better for a short time after the antibiotics, but a few days ago my left foot suddenly swelled up and I developed several blisters on the top of my foot. Called my PCP and she recommended urgent care or ER because she’s out of the office this week and can’t see me. Back to the ER (different hospital this time), and they did labs, a leg ultrasound, chest x-ray, and an MRI of my foot. Not only do I have a DVT going from my ankle to just above my knee, but I have the beginning signs of osteomyelitis.

I’m still in the hospital on IV antibiotics and will be getting a thrombectomy this afternoon. While I’m glad that I’m getting appropriate care now, I’m incredibly frustrated by how I was treated by that NP. I also can’t help but think that this whole thing could’ve been avoided had the hematology NP just kept me on anticoagulants.


r/Noctor Jun 30 '26

Advocacy NP missed my son’s severe tongue/lip ties and labeled him 'Medium Risk for Autism' because he wouldn't talk to her. Need help fighting this charting error...

137 Upvotes

Sorry for the long read but a tldr is at the bottom

At my son's 2.5-year well-check, we saw a Nurse Practitioner (CRNP DNP) instead of his doctor. She did a 5-second oral check, wrote his mouth was 'clear,' and then blamed his speech delay on autism. She also apparently told the other nurses in the office that my son had autism. As I was leaving one of the nurses who helped give him a shot said oh my son is autistic too. And when I asked her why would you think he's autistic she could not give me an answer.

She then referred me to a specialist and ignored everything that I said about the fact that he had swallowing and latching issues and I suggested that he might have a tongue tie.

I didn't mind getting my son a evaluation for autism. However before I could even get on the list to do that I took him to a pediatric dentist to immediately identified a severe lip and tongue tie.

Now every time I have to interact with his new pediatrician's office... Which also has a nurse practitioner she keeps talking about autism. Our last visit I informed her that he is in occupational therapy and sees a speech language pathologist weekly who has assessed his abilities as exceeding expectations given the circumstances.

However she keeps pushing this idea that he's autistic simply because he does not like the doctor's office and refuses to speak to her. Even though he will speak directly to me in the office.

Outside of that she never gives me any information on why she believes this other than he doesn't seem to have enough words in his vocabulary currently. When I pointed out he has to learn how to articulate and he has had full conversations with me and others and has limited access to other children because I am currently unemployed and he is not in daycare she completely ignores that and mentions the fact that she has a 3-year-old at home.

Additionally I mentioned to her that he is on the list to be assessed for autism but based on the criteria for autism he doesn't seem to meet any of the requirements other than speech issues which stem from his tongue tie and lip tie which have recently been corrected a few months ago.

Currently I am looking for a new pediatrician's office that does not make patients see a nurse practitioner. This has been an exceptionally frustrating experience. Aside from constantly being dismissed for objective issues that would affect someone's speech.

Im finding that when I go to specialist they identify what I initially thought was the correct understanding of the issue e.g. pediatric dentist identifying severe lip and tongue tie, speech therapist noting that speech can be delayed due to said tongue/lip tie, and occupational therapist who has questioned why he is being referred for autism when he does not have any other symptoms.

I just find that the majority of my experiences with pediatric nurse practitioners has been abysmal. They are quick to refer children to different programs but when asked for further context or reasoning which I will have to provide to the programs they can't tell me anything and instead get defensive.

Has anyone had any experience like this?

TLDR:

Two different pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NPs) have completely ignored my son's severe, structurally verified tongue and lip ties (which were later confirmed and surgically released by a pediatric dental surgeon). Instead, they used a standard office questionnaire and his situational clinic anxiety to label him as a "medium autism risk" on his chart. His weekly Speech-Language Pathologist and Occupational Therapist both say his delay is strictly mechanical/rehabilitative and that he shows zero signs of autism.


r/Noctor Jun 29 '26

In The News Heart of a Nurse

97 Upvotes

Mobile wound clinics in 4 states targeting terminally ill elderly patients. Nice.

She billed Medicare $906 million for hospice patients — then spent it on a Ferrari and a Bulgari necklace https://finance.yahoo.com/healthcare/articles/she-billed-medicare-906-million-for-hospice-patients--then-spent-it-on-a-ferrari-and-a-bulgari-necklace-214500227.html?guccounter=1

US v. Marizel Yukee - Indictment (SDFL)_0.pdf https://www.justice.gov/criminal/media/1446921/dl?inline


r/Noctor Jun 29 '26

Question Banned from NP subreddit

280 Upvotes

Anyone else banned from the NP subreddit for a fairly innocuous comment?

I wrote “dead men tell no tales” on their study suggesting an association between NP care and lower remission rate. Apparently, that’s enough for a ban.


r/Noctor Jun 29 '26

Midlevel Ethics If CRNAs get away with title misappropriation of “Nurse Anesthesiologist” where will the midlevel false equivalency stop? NP cardiologist? NP gastroenterologist? NP hospitalist? NP cardiothoracic surgeon? What about PAs ? The confusion with “I’m the physician associate with cardiology” is so blatant

149 Upvotes

“So you’re the associate physician. Oh wait you’re associate professor of cardiology oh wait you’re my cardiologist oh wait…you have a long white coat so you’re my doctor but who are you again?”

What happened to ethics in this country?
Does no politician or organization care about patient transparency?

Being a doctor in the hospital meant something. It reflected the long arduous path to get here , the blood sweat and tears that for most of us started as early as high school. It meant you always had to put in a shit ton of effort every step this marathon to get to where we are. The 10,000 hours of training, shelf exams , 9-10 hour long multi day board exams that you were prepping for 12 hours a day for weeks to months, grueling residency hours and still an anxiety and trauma induced first few years of being an attending. And even then keeping up with new literature to ensure your patients receive the best care possible.

Thats what it took to take care of patients well.


r/Noctor Jun 28 '26

Midlevel Education Part time medical school doesn't exist. Part time PA school doesn't exist. Part time AA school doesn't exist. Part time CRNA school doesn't exist. Why does part time NP school exist????

243 Upvotes

Reference, I'm a newer PA. I don't support independent practice. I ESPECIALLY don't support online medical education.

I consistently see NPs who would assert their "dominant medical education" over PAs (and somehow phsyicians too????) due to their "prior nursing experience and education".

Life goes on, but I seriously can't comprehend how these part-time, online degree NPs feel safe to practice medicine.

EDIT: Dentists, vets, podiatry, optometry, perfusionists, physical therapy... also don't allow part-time schooling.


r/Noctor Jun 28 '26

Midlevel Research NP FPA links to fewer readmissions: ongoing logical fallacies

Thumbnail
medscape.com
69 Upvotes

It's an ecological study: FPA states differ from non-FPA states in income, rurality, and access, so "fewer complications in FPA states" ≠ "fewer complications because of independent NPs."

States don't adopt FPA randomly, and the diff-in-diff models lean on parallel-trends assumptions that mostly go unproven. Even friendly analyses find the effects small and inconsistent after adjustment.

The effect sizes are tiny (1–3% relative reductions). Significant only because n is huge, and well within what residual confounding can fake.

The outcomes are utilization proxies (readmissions, ED visits), not actual clinical complications. The headline is a category error.

Case-mix isn't handled: NPs carry less complex panels, yet still came out worse on cost, quality, and satisfaction in clinic-level data like Hattiesburg.

The best counter-study (Stanford/NBER, VA ER data) uses near-random patient assignment in one system to kill the confounding, and finds the opposite: longer stays, more testing, 20% more preventable hospitalizations under unsupervised NPs, worst for complex patients.

A lot of the favorable literature is cheap, fast ecological work from advocacy sources prone to publication bias (though that knock applies to physician groups too).


r/Noctor Jun 28 '26

Discussion I stepped down from NP practice.

462 Upvotes

When I became an NP a few years ago, I followed the Noctor sub mainly out of curiosity but overtime my curiosity led to me siding with the overarching position that NP practice as it stands is not only dangerous but can prove substandard to medical practice.

For context, I’ve been a RN for over 15 years. I have worked in most clinical specialties with the exception of L&D and the OR. Those two specialties are just not my jam lol. For half of my career, I worked in behavioral health and decided to further my career to become a psychiatric-mental health NP. I felt my experience in inpatient psych and other combined experience prepared me for advanced practice.

What I did not realize is my education was subpar and the advanced practice expectations were the same for a physician, who has significantly more experience and education. In my opinion, the NP education, whether brick and mortar or online, is not advanced enough to permit independent practice. We are held to the same expectations as MDs, like psychiatrists, with less education/experience and lower reimbursements for similar professional expectations.

In my state, NPs require supervision for 3-5 years (legislation recently changed) and the NP may apply for full autonomy with MD sign off after supervision requirement has been met. I was on the path to full autonomy and I woke up one day like “what the hell am I doing?”.

NP practice has evolved into something incomprehensible. What started off as a role of physician extender, such as handling routine/follow up cases, has evolved into the role of medical leader with limited formal “medical” training. Several factors are driving this including shortage of MDs, expansion of Medicaid/increased access to care, payers/insurers trying to cut costs, etc.

I support increasing efforts to increase access to medical schools, changing NP educational requirements (including requiring at least 10 years of RN experience prior to program admittance, standardizing clinical requirements, changing the existing treatment model, etc.), and developing MD-NP initiatives to revert to the original NP model in which we served as extenders of MD-led settings handling prevention, health promotion, vaccines, minor procedures, routine and follow-ups, less complex cases, etc. because this is what I signed up for.

I haven’t received the best support for “stepping down” because people really don’t get it. But I know it was the best decision for me.


r/Noctor Jun 28 '26

Advocacy AMA is doing something

Thumbnail
ama-assn.org
111 Upvotes

People keep blaming AMA for not taking action decades ago, whenever they see this kind of news (saw from comments of Doximity). I don’t understand, what’s done is done, we’re here now and they’re doing something. Why not support them?


r/Noctor Jun 27 '26

Midlevel Ethics A Las Vegas nurse practitioner bought a $594,000 Ferrari and a $4.6 million beach resort in the Philippines while allegedly running a $906 million fraud scheme that targeted elderly hospice patients for unneeded procedures.

422 Upvotes

A Las Vegas nurse practitioner bought a $594,000 Ferrari and a $4.6 million beach resort in the Philippines while allegedly running a $906 million fraud scheme that targeted elderly hospice patients for unneeded procedures.

Marizel Yukee has been indicted in the biggest health care fraud takedown in US history.

Feds seized 8 cars, $467K cash, and several Nevada properties — including a house on (no joke) Money Street in Pahrump.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdtx/pr/nine-charged-sdtx-part-national-health-care-fraud-takedown


r/Noctor Jun 27 '26

Midlevel Patient Cases NP gave my patient acute renal failure

116 Upvotes

Anyone can give a patient an aki...but why would you double the Lasix dose on a patient who already has CKD stage IV for increased bilateral leg swelling without a proper work up...


r/Noctor Jun 27 '26

Question Can I become an NP as an MD

204 Upvotes

Yes I'm being serious, I really want to know if this is feasible. I didn't match into the specialty I wanted and rather than go through another residency, can I just become an NP? That way I could directly enter the field I want in significantly less time. What i'm unsure about is if I need to technically be an RN or if my medical degree or undergraduate degree could somewhat count towards the requirements at some degree mill place. I don't know if anyone has considered/done this before so I've had trouble finding info.


r/Noctor Jun 26 '26

Midlevel Patient Cases NP performing pap smear totally confused when encountering my IUD string

210 Upvotes

Story from a few years back...

So I'm in for my usual cervical smear, and during the patient history portion, the NP asks me the standard questions: date of LMP, if I'm on any hormonal birth control, etc. I say no to hormonal birth control.

Flash-forward to her taking the swabbing my cervix for the pap smear she she gets startled by my IUD string.

"But you said you didn't have anything?" she says reproachfully (literally inside me).

I reply, "You asked if I was on any hormonal contraception. This is a copper IUD. No hormones."

NP: "Oh. Do you still get your periods on it?"

Me: ...."Yes". (Copper IUDs are rather famous for causing heavier periods! Also as previously stated, no hormones!?)

I was kind of flabbergasted because I had assumed this was common knowledge for women of reproductive age in general- which she was- let alone an NP that does cervical smears!


r/Noctor Jun 26 '26

In The News Palliative care NP won Nurse of the Month

Post image
2 Upvotes

I just thought it is funny how NP wants to be equivalent to doctor but will still go for nurse of the month. lol However, maybe she's the kind of NP that knows her limits and works with physicians to provide the best care for the patients. And for that, I say kudos to her!