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Owning a Gun: Not as Easy as it Looks
I am a nurse practitioner living in the South; I am also a concealed carry permit holder and an NRA pistol instructor who competes. I own an AR15; it is not an assault rifle—it’s just a rifle.
I often see articles about the “ease” of purchasing a gun, but this is just not true. Even with the laxer gun control of the South, obtaining a concealed carry license entails going through both the FBI and local police, a review of mental health records, a long questionnaire, and an eight-hour class that involves shooting. So, yes, I can purchase a gun in 30 minutes—but only because I’ve already been through this process.
If I wanted to purchase a gun without a permit, I would have to go to the courthouse and be fingerprinted and run through the system before I could get a one-time purchase permit. I could not get a permit if I had a mental illness, had ever been arrested or accused of domestic violence, etc.
My heart breaks every time a mass shooting, like the one at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, happens. Guns have been around in our area for many, many years. High school kids used to mount a shotgun in a rack on the top of their truck to hunt before school; they didn’t think of using it to hurt a person. I believe the problems we face today are multifaceted: a lack of parenting, absent fathers, people not getting the mental health services they need, and HIPAA! Mental health professionals are afraid to call authorities for fear of being sued.
I truly believe we need to stop politicizing this issue. Let’s quit blaming the guns themselves and work on real solutions. For example, parents have an obligation to lock up all firearms! Kids should never have access to guns from their own home. In my house, when we have visitors—even if they are adults—we lock our guns in our safe. Security at our schools should mimic that at courthouses, with metal detectors, armed security personnel, and limited entrance/exit areas.
Deborah Johnson, FNP-C
Kinston, NC
I am a nurse practitioner living in the South; I am also a concealed carry permit holder and an NRA pistol instructor who competes. I own an AR15; it is not an assault rifle—it’s just a rifle.
I often see articles about the “ease” of purchasing a gun, but this is just not true. Even with the laxer gun control of the South, obtaining a concealed carry license entails going through both the FBI and local police, a review of mental health records, a long questionnaire, and an eight-hour class that involves shooting. So, yes, I can purchase a gun in 30 minutes—but only because I’ve already been through this process.
If I wanted to purchase a gun without a permit, I would have to go to the courthouse and be fingerprinted and run through the system before I could get a one-time purchase permit. I could not get a permit if I had a mental illness, had ever been arrested or accused of domestic violence, etc.
My heart breaks every time a mass shooting, like the one at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, happens. Guns have been around in our area for many, many years. High school kids used to mount a shotgun in a rack on the top of their truck to hunt before school; they didn’t think of using it to hurt a person. I believe the problems we face today are multifaceted: a lack of parenting, absent fathers, people not getting the mental health services they need, and HIPAA! Mental health professionals are afraid to call authorities for fear of being sued.
I truly believe we need to stop politicizing this issue. Let’s quit blaming the guns themselves and work on real solutions. For example, parents have an obligation to lock up all firearms! Kids should never have access to guns from their own home. In my house, when we have visitors—even if they are adults—we lock our guns in our safe. Security at our schools should mimic that at courthouses, with metal detectors, armed security personnel, and limited entrance/exit areas.
Deborah Johnson, FNP-C
Kinston, NC
I am a nurse practitioner living in the South; I am also a concealed carry permit holder and an NRA pistol instructor who competes. I own an AR15; it is not an assault rifle—it’s just a rifle.
I often see articles about the “ease” of purchasing a gun, but this is just not true. Even with the laxer gun control of the South, obtaining a concealed carry license entails going through both the FBI and local police, a review of mental health records, a long questionnaire, and an eight-hour class that involves shooting. So, yes, I can purchase a gun in 30 minutes—but only because I’ve already been through this process.
If I wanted to purchase a gun without a permit, I would have to go to the courthouse and be fingerprinted and run through the system before I could get a one-time purchase permit. I could not get a permit if I had a mental illness, had ever been arrested or accused of domestic violence, etc.
My heart breaks every time a mass shooting, like the one at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, happens. Guns have been around in our area for many, many years. High school kids used to mount a shotgun in a rack on the top of their truck to hunt before school; they didn’t think of using it to hurt a person. I believe the problems we face today are multifaceted: a lack of parenting, absent fathers, people not getting the mental health services they need, and HIPAA! Mental health professionals are afraid to call authorities for fear of being sued.
I truly believe we need to stop politicizing this issue. Let’s quit blaming the guns themselves and work on real solutions. For example, parents have an obligation to lock up all firearms! Kids should never have access to guns from their own home. In my house, when we have visitors—even if they are adults—we lock our guns in our safe. Security at our schools should mimic that at courthouses, with metal detectors, armed security personnel, and limited entrance/exit areas.
Deborah Johnson, FNP-C
Kinston, NC
Advanced practice nurses and physician assistants are not the same
Looking across a hospital ward, emergency department, or primary care clinic aligned side by side, you may not see any differences between an advanced practice nurse (APN) or physician assistant (PA). However, if you took a closer look at their education programs and credentialing, you would find considerable differences.
Although both professions hold advanced degrees, the approach to patient care differs, as well as the training they receive, including different models of practice. The APN is trained according to the nursing model, while the PA attends programs that are more in line with the medical model. The APN has a patient-centered model, while the PA adheres to a disease-centered model. Consequently, their approach to caring for the same patient population differs in viewpoint and philosophy.
Entry into the APN programs requires a nursing degree or related field from an accredited college or university. The curriculum includes coursework in health care policy, advocacy, outcomes, advanced assessment, diagnosis, and practice skills as well as, pharmacology, pathophysiology, and a final capstone project.
There are six specialty APN tracks including pediatrics, women’s/gender health, family practice, adult-gerontology, psychiatric, and neonatal. Additionally, there are three additional advanced practice registered nurses tracks: certified nurse anesthesia, certified nurse midwife, and clinical nurse leader. In addition to academic hours, there is a minimum of 1,000 supervised, direct patient care clinical hours in a variety of locations covering all populations specific to the identified specialty.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics defines the role of physician assistant as follows: “Physician assistants practice medicine under the supervision of physicians and surgeons. PAs are formally trained to provide diagnostic, therapeutic, and preventive health care services, as delegated by a physician.” The physician assistant program is a master’s prepared education.
School requirements include completing 2 years of pre-physician assistant undergraduate studies prior to applying to the School of Biomedical Sciences. Many programs have a 200-hour health care experience requirement, which can be either paid or unpaid. However, unlike the APN program, this is not required by all PA programs, but it is strongly encouraged.
Accredited PA programs require completing a 3-year graduate program that includes clinical rotations and results in a Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies. Physician assistant programs typically involve 1,000 classroom hours and 2,000 or more hours in a clinical setting. The course work focuses on biochemistry, pathology, anatomy and physiology, ethics, and biology.
Both the APN and PA practices are regulated by the state through licensure laws and policy that determine the scope of practice and allow prescriptive authority.
Both programs began in 1965 in response to a shortage of primary care physicians, yet each program took a different route to address this need. According to the May 2017 Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were more than 109,000 physician assistants and more than 166,000 nurse practitioners practicing in the United States.
With the enactment of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, the mandate for APN’s and PA’s to lead patient-centered medical homes continued to grow to meet the demand. Both roles provide direct patient care under the sponsorship of a physician, yet both roles have gained a greater level of independence as state and federal requirements have relaxed restrictive physician collaboration and oversight rules, which has allowed both roles to practice at the highest level of their training. These relaxed restrictions come at a time when a growing physician shortage is met by increased demands placed on the health care system.
Ms. Thew is a certified family nurse practitioner in the division of adolescent medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. Email her at pdnews@mdedge.com
Looking across a hospital ward, emergency department, or primary care clinic aligned side by side, you may not see any differences between an advanced practice nurse (APN) or physician assistant (PA). However, if you took a closer look at their education programs and credentialing, you would find considerable differences.
Although both professions hold advanced degrees, the approach to patient care differs, as well as the training they receive, including different models of practice. The APN is trained according to the nursing model, while the PA attends programs that are more in line with the medical model. The APN has a patient-centered model, while the PA adheres to a disease-centered model. Consequently, their approach to caring for the same patient population differs in viewpoint and philosophy.
Entry into the APN programs requires a nursing degree or related field from an accredited college or university. The curriculum includes coursework in health care policy, advocacy, outcomes, advanced assessment, diagnosis, and practice skills as well as, pharmacology, pathophysiology, and a final capstone project.
There are six specialty APN tracks including pediatrics, women’s/gender health, family practice, adult-gerontology, psychiatric, and neonatal. Additionally, there are three additional advanced practice registered nurses tracks: certified nurse anesthesia, certified nurse midwife, and clinical nurse leader. In addition to academic hours, there is a minimum of 1,000 supervised, direct patient care clinical hours in a variety of locations covering all populations specific to the identified specialty.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics defines the role of physician assistant as follows: “Physician assistants practice medicine under the supervision of physicians and surgeons. PAs are formally trained to provide diagnostic, therapeutic, and preventive health care services, as delegated by a physician.” The physician assistant program is a master’s prepared education.
School requirements include completing 2 years of pre-physician assistant undergraduate studies prior to applying to the School of Biomedical Sciences. Many programs have a 200-hour health care experience requirement, which can be either paid or unpaid. However, unlike the APN program, this is not required by all PA programs, but it is strongly encouraged.
Accredited PA programs require completing a 3-year graduate program that includes clinical rotations and results in a Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies. Physician assistant programs typically involve 1,000 classroom hours and 2,000 or more hours in a clinical setting. The course work focuses on biochemistry, pathology, anatomy and physiology, ethics, and biology.
Both the APN and PA practices are regulated by the state through licensure laws and policy that determine the scope of practice and allow prescriptive authority.
Both programs began in 1965 in response to a shortage of primary care physicians, yet each program took a different route to address this need. According to the May 2017 Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were more than 109,000 physician assistants and more than 166,000 nurse practitioners practicing in the United States.
With the enactment of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, the mandate for APN’s and PA’s to lead patient-centered medical homes continued to grow to meet the demand. Both roles provide direct patient care under the sponsorship of a physician, yet both roles have gained a greater level of independence as state and federal requirements have relaxed restrictive physician collaboration and oversight rules, which has allowed both roles to practice at the highest level of their training. These relaxed restrictions come at a time when a growing physician shortage is met by increased demands placed on the health care system.
Ms. Thew is a certified family nurse practitioner in the division of adolescent medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. Email her at pdnews@mdedge.com
Looking across a hospital ward, emergency department, or primary care clinic aligned side by side, you may not see any differences between an advanced practice nurse (APN) or physician assistant (PA). However, if you took a closer look at their education programs and credentialing, you would find considerable differences.
Although both professions hold advanced degrees, the approach to patient care differs, as well as the training they receive, including different models of practice. The APN is trained according to the nursing model, while the PA attends programs that are more in line with the medical model. The APN has a patient-centered model, while the PA adheres to a disease-centered model. Consequently, their approach to caring for the same patient population differs in viewpoint and philosophy.
Entry into the APN programs requires a nursing degree or related field from an accredited college or university. The curriculum includes coursework in health care policy, advocacy, outcomes, advanced assessment, diagnosis, and practice skills as well as, pharmacology, pathophysiology, and a final capstone project.
There are six specialty APN tracks including pediatrics, women’s/gender health, family practice, adult-gerontology, psychiatric, and neonatal. Additionally, there are three additional advanced practice registered nurses tracks: certified nurse anesthesia, certified nurse midwife, and clinical nurse leader. In addition to academic hours, there is a minimum of 1,000 supervised, direct patient care clinical hours in a variety of locations covering all populations specific to the identified specialty.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics defines the role of physician assistant as follows: “Physician assistants practice medicine under the supervision of physicians and surgeons. PAs are formally trained to provide diagnostic, therapeutic, and preventive health care services, as delegated by a physician.” The physician assistant program is a master’s prepared education.
School requirements include completing 2 years of pre-physician assistant undergraduate studies prior to applying to the School of Biomedical Sciences. Many programs have a 200-hour health care experience requirement, which can be either paid or unpaid. However, unlike the APN program, this is not required by all PA programs, but it is strongly encouraged.
Accredited PA programs require completing a 3-year graduate program that includes clinical rotations and results in a Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies. Physician assistant programs typically involve 1,000 classroom hours and 2,000 or more hours in a clinical setting. The course work focuses on biochemistry, pathology, anatomy and physiology, ethics, and biology.
Both the APN and PA practices are regulated by the state through licensure laws and policy that determine the scope of practice and allow prescriptive authority.
Both programs began in 1965 in response to a shortage of primary care physicians, yet each program took a different route to address this need. According to the May 2017 Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were more than 109,000 physician assistants and more than 166,000 nurse practitioners practicing in the United States.
With the enactment of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, the mandate for APN’s and PA’s to lead patient-centered medical homes continued to grow to meet the demand. Both roles provide direct patient care under the sponsorship of a physician, yet both roles have gained a greater level of independence as state and federal requirements have relaxed restrictive physician collaboration and oversight rules, which has allowed both roles to practice at the highest level of their training. These relaxed restrictions come at a time when a growing physician shortage is met by increased demands placed on the health care system.
Ms. Thew is a certified family nurse practitioner in the division of adolescent medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. Email her at pdnews@mdedge.com