Nurse practitioners, physician assistants help manage doctor shortage
Posted almost 14 years ago by Stanley F Whittaker
Written by Jake Miller Wausau Daily Herald
Mollie Berg spends her workdays seeing her own patients, diagnosing their illnesses and writing prescriptions for illness from ear infections to strep throat.
But Berg, who works at Aspirus, isn't a doctor.
She's a physician assistant -- a highly trained healthcare worker who provides basic care to patients in a variety of specialty fields that physicians otherwise would handle.
The use of physician assistants and nurse practitioners is becoming increasingly popular in central Wisconsin as healthcare providers look for ways to address a nationwide physician shortage that is projected to get worse in coming years.
"Patients should expect the same respect, same patient-centered care, kindness," she said. "That should be the same from their perspective."
All three major providers in the region -- Aspirus, Ministry Health Care and Marshfield Clinic -- have ramped up their use of physician assistants and nurse practitioners during the past decade.