And what do you think, are they inferior to psychiatrists?
The USA is really odd, no one wants to be a psychiatrist so we import them from other countries and use nurse practitioners to prescribe medication for the mentally ill. Another question could be, How many of your psychiatrists have been from a foreign country?
You’ve probably heard that psychiatry is more an art than science. But the science is important and I usually avoid making medicine changes without consulting her even if it doesn’t have withdrawal risks.
Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners are specialist in the Mental field but still not a psychiatrist.
Half of my psychiatrist have been born abroad. I trust them as much I do a US educated psychiatrist.
I need a psychiatrist that works well with me, understanding and able to handle me. With the labor shortage. I don’t have much choice is getting the psychiatrist I want, my last pdoc left for private practice.
In Belgium there doesn’t exist nurse practitioners. Only psychiatrists can prescribe meds and I’ve only had ones that were born here (not that it matters).
I used to have the option of going to a local nurse practitioner, but she moved jobs, then I found out that she had prescribed me too much of a certain drug.
Unfortunate mistake, I don’t want to cause any trouble because I don’t want the doctors I’m working with now to view me as a litigious person. I don’t know the extent of the possible harm perhaps caused by the mistake in dosing.
The nurse practitioner profession seems to be a coming thing. At least it seems that way to me. I view it as very positive because it keeps medical costs down. We ought to look for other ways to keep medical costs down. This business of giving people therapy over the phone is very positive for the same reason. It keeps costs down. But I spent a year in a private psychiatric facility in 1987, and most of the doctors were anglo males. There was a number of women pdoc’s, though. It is in the public sector that most of the pdoc’s are foreign born.
I have been seeing a psychiatric nurse practitioner since 12/29 and she’s the best I’ve ever had.
I was initially wary because i thought I HAD to have a pdoc, but Denise is extremely knowledgeable and professional. As a bonus, she was a family nurse practitioner for several years before doing her psych certificate, so she comes from a very well rounded whole body perspective, rather than just focusing on psychiatry. I adore her.
The profit picture is very important in medicine, but they do make an effort to take care of people who can’t pay. They have these cards available to the public that can bring the cost of your med’s down a lot. I think there are medical situations where they will deny you care if you can’t pay. I think that if you have cancer they don’t treat it as aggressively if you can’t pay for it. I think you get “palliative care”, where they try to make you as comfortable as possible, but they don’t do massive surgery, or very expensive things like that. There are some politicians wanting to make all health care free in the U.S. I don’t know if that will go through. There are medical conditions where they treat people on social security without charge, but they make people who work pay out of their pockets. I don’t know all of what is going on there. I have no idea what all the intricacies of the situation are.
It’s funny. As a teen I didn’t want to take medicine and I was told you have to so I took the attitude you better pay for my care and medicine! or I’m going rogue! And the government said if you don’t take medicine you have to work and live on the street. The reason I can’t live in a shelter is my profound exhaustion which also exacerbates my psychosis. Anyway, my mom told me it’s very probable extremely small houses are going to be built for the homeless because in the long run it saves the government money! I’m insecure about my living situation because I speak so well and don’t appear mentally ill like some people do. It’s very hard to explain how I can do some of the things I do and not be able to work. In my case it is not anxiety, just a very lost feeling from psychosis, the ability to formulate rational thought while alone at home doing the things I enjoy I can manage most of the time. I have to be my own lawyer because mental health officials aren’t mentally ill.
Mine is an NP, and she’s great. She’s more thorough than anyone else I’ve seen. And she’s humble enough to look something up if she doesn’t know. I respect her a lot.
Oh, and several of my pdocs have been from outside the US. The very first one I ever saw some 15 years ago was a Jordanian woman. I still remember her name and asking about her language. I grew up isolated and didn’t get to see many “outsiders” until adulthood, so I found her fascinating. Poor lady lol.
I have a nurse practitioner right now. She is better than many of the psychiatrists I’ve seen. She’s very present and invested and regularly schedules me for lab work to get a full health picture of what’s going on with my body and what the meds are doing to it. Probably in my top 5 of psychiatric prescribers I’ve seen in my thirty years with this illness. She really cares and you can tell while remaining professional. If my mental health was a situation that jeopardized my life, I’d trust my life in her hands without a second thought.
My pdoc got a PA around the time Covid started. I avoid her for my psych visits, but I don’t mind discussing my headaches with her (they are also neuro and do my botox). She’s friendly, and I have no beef with her being a PA. However, she kept pushing ADs on me, which majorly triggers mania in me. When I get manic- surprise- I do stupid stuff. Mania is what has landed me in the hospital just about every time I’ve been in one. I am taking Trazadone for sleep, but I’m taking it with caution, trying to be aware.
Sorry for all the deets. I’m big on extraneous information.
I have had 2 Nurse Practitioners at the county public hospital. When there was a shortage of Haldol, one suggested I change providers to get my care from the VA. She was terrified of switching me from Haldol to Prolixin, both dopamine antagonists. She felt her job was to only prescribe the same med I had historically taken. Her knowledge was not great.
I am now seeing a resident doctor, overseen my an older doctor. I like it because the resident is not condescending or authoritarian.
My first pdoc was from Peru and he worked many different places to earn a lot of money. Here, there is a real shortage of psychiatrists and a long wait to obtain one. The NP’s provide more routine care to supplement the physicians.
Haven’t seen a psychiatrist in nearly 8 months. My Community Psych Nurse is my lead practitioner, and Hes the one that gives me the depot jab once a month at home, whilst we have a chat. It seems to work out well.
Not actually visited in the building in a couple of years lol.
Ive been due a med review for ages - but the shrinks keep buggering off and leaving!
