Rebekah Bernard discusses the legislative trends and impacts of allowing non-physician practitioners (NPs and PAs) to practice medicine unsupervised. She highlights the extensive training and hours required for physicians compared to the significantly less training for NPs and PAs. Bernard explains how legislative changes have allowed NPs and PAs to practice independently in many states, often with less experience and training comp...

Dr. Denise Weiss always wanted to be a physician, but circumstances led her into nursing. She earned an associate's degree as a registered nurse, and then became a family nurse practitioner. After several years of practice, she realized that her education had not prepared her for independent practice, and she decided to return to school to become a physician. Now a practicing anesthesiologist, Dr. Weiss explains the difference...

A patient shares her story of receiving the wrong type of filler into her face by a registered nurse, leading to severe and permanent nerve damage. Francesca explains that the RN, who was in NP school at the time, was not being supervised, and worked in a for-profit clinic owned by a non-physician.

While some may argue, "Let the Buyer Beware," Francesca believes that patients are not be in the position to fully u...

In February 2025, the AAPA published a press release entitled: 'AAPA Releases Survey Showing Physician Support for Removing Barriers to PA Practice.'   According to AAPA President Jason Prevelige (DMSc, MBA, PA-C, DFAAPA), the survey proved that, “Physicians recognize the need for change. It’s time to modernize these laws so healthcare teams can focus on what matters most, patient care.” But what did this survey REALLY sh...

Emergency physician Dr. Deborah Fletcher is an author of the first study to evaluate physician presence in Emergency Departments across the country. She discusses the findings, including that 7.4% of all EDs have NO physician on-site, and of those, 3% have no ability for the NP/PA staffing the ED to discuss patient care with a physician.

Emergency physician Dr. Mercy Hylton discusses the dangers of this practice, including...

Pulmonologist / Intensivist Gary Dudek, MD, joins me to discuss the CDC's call for comments regarding allowing nurse practitioners and physician assistants to become National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) 'B Readers'. 

B-Readers are highly trained radiologists (medical school graduates with at least five years of residency as well as additional training in this particular type of x-ray) that rea...

Susan J. Baumgaertel, MD FACP, an internal medicine physician, author, patient advocate, and ally to colleagues discusses how physicians can fight for patients.

Trust in physicians has plummeted in the last few years (https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2821693), making it more and more difficult for doctors to do their jobs, and potentially leading to a negative impact on patient care. While many point to h...

On September 17, 2024, the Texas Senate Health and Human Services Committee held an interim hearing on scope of practice expansion for nurse practitioners and other clinicians. In this third episode related to that hearing, Texas Medical Association (TMA) president Ray Callas MD discusses the importance of physician oversight for nonphysician practitioners and answers questions from legislators.

Importantly, Dr. Callas not...

 In the last episode, you heard some of my testimony at the Texas Interim Legislature hearing on Scope of Practice. Today you're going to hear from a nurse practitioner, Holly Jeffries, who is practicing in rural Texas.

Her testimony was particularly impactful and really quite persuasive to legislators. I think it's important to understand the NP point of view and also learn the concerns of legislators by listeni...

On September 17, 2024, the Texas Senate Health and Human Services Committee held an interim hearing on scope of practice expansion for nurse practitioners and other clinicians. The Texas Medical Association (TMA) invited Rebekah Bernard, MD to testify regarding the economic impact of NP independence.

In part 1 of this series, we hear the NP expert witness, economist Alicia Plemons, followed by Dr. Bernard's testimony,...

On the last podcast, I interviewed Dr. Anu Shokla who shared her story of her newborn baby being treated for an emergency rapid response by a nurse practitioner who had just rotated with her on the inpatient adult hematology oncology service.

After hearing that podcast, Dr. Carol Nelson reached out to share a story of the alternate version: her newborn granddaughter was saved because of the outstanding care from well-train...

In the first of a series 'The Nurse Will See You Now,' Bloomberg reporters investigate concerns about nurse practitioner education.

The Miseducation of America’s Nurse Practitioners

They don’t merely support doctors—NPs increasingly treat patients independently, including in specialty practices and emergency rooms. When they aren’t well trained, the results can be tragic. By Caleb Melby, Polly Mosendz, and Noah Buh...

There are an estimated 500-750 clinics across the U.S. providing infusions of Ketamine for the treatment of a variety of medical conditions. This is big business, estimated to bring in $3.1 billion per year and projected to rise to 6.9 billion by 2030.  But is Ketamine safe and effective? 

Psychiatrist Kristina Kise, MD discusses the use of ketamine infusions in psychiatry, including the potential dangers to patients when ...

Psychiatrists are increasingly being replaced by non-physician practitioners - psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners (PMHNPs) and physician assistants (PAs). This webinar explains the difference between a psychiatrist and a PMHNP and reviews the evidence regarding unsupervised care of patients with mental illness by non-physicians.

Link to webinar video: https://youtu.be/djDos6xbRos
Contact me: PatientsAtRisk.c...

Over the last decade, as physicians have increasingly turned to employed practice to cope with declining reimbursement and increased administrative requirements, our role in advocacy has diminished. Doctors are afraid to speak out because we fear being fired and losing our livelihoods.  But without physician advocacy, corporate interests, academic centers, and government agencies are increasingly making decisions contrary to the be...

In today's episode, Teresa Camp-Rogers, MD, MS analyzes a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the journal of the American College of Physicians, entitled 

Inappropriate Prescribing to Older Patients by Nurse Practitioners and Primary Care Physicians

The article, which seems to call for an expansion of unsupervised practice for NPs, contends that NPs and physicians showed no differences in inappropri...