[kellishaver]

Agreed. Nurse practitioners are a great addition to the medical field. They can handle most common problems and are well-trained enough to know when to refer you to someone higher up the chain. All the nurses in our school system are NPs now. This pretty much guarantees good, basic healthcare to all of the kids in the school district. They can all get their annual physical from the school NP and if a kid comes in to see the nurse and has, for instance, strep throat, the nurse do the strep test and write out a prescription for antibiotics and the parents, who may not have insurance, don't have to pay to take their kid to the doctor (granted, they still have to pay for the medication, but this is still a huge cost-saving service for a lot of uninsured families).

[whatusername]

That sounds fantastic. I had a slight ear-infection the other day and couldn't be bothered going to the doctors for a antibiotics prescription. Even if it is free/cheap (Australia). Being able to skip the doctor part would be great.

Also - We've used the "Nurse on Call" call-centre a couple of times. It's been a good experience. Reassurance if it's not a big deal, and a referral to a doctor (or an auto dial to an ambulance) if it is.