PAs and NPs for Primary Care

Alqbamine32
Fri, 14 Nov 2025 20:16:08 +0000

abasket:

Also to the thread in general, PCP = “primary care provider” - an NP or PA IS a medical “provider”. So maybe we need to or want to distinguish between a PCP and a primary care doctor.

I had always assumed that PCP meant Primary Care Physician, but I just looked on my insurance’s web site and yes, indeed, it means Primary Care Provider and there are both NPs and PAs listed as options for one’s primary care. I currently have an MD for primary care, but I would not be opposed to having an NP or PA next time I have to switch. For me, having a provider who actually listens and takes me seriously is the most important criteria. I have had way too many negative experiences with doctors who are condescending or “don’t suffer fools lightly.” I think highly of my current PCP, and the various specialists whom I see, but more than once over the years, I had difficulty finding a doctor with whom I’m comfortable and trust and was taking new patients. Perhaps I am not as confident or pushy as I should be, and I could probably be a better self-advocate, but I’ve sometimes wondered why some of them want to be health care providers when they seem to dislike interacting with patients.

I don’t think we should dismiss people who have positive experiences with other types of clinicians as just wanting a warm and fuzzy bedside manner at the expense of expertise. Sometimes people just want a clinician who doesn’t write you off as soon as they see you are black or overweight. And yes, I’ve also met some rude nurses over the years, but it has been rarer. Ideally one can get both expertise and good manners in the same person. But all the expertise in the world is useless if the health care provider is too domineering or just too busy with their patient load to hear out your concerns.

ETA: Sorry, I didn’t mean to reply to @abasket specifically. I don’t know how to fix this to make it a general reply.