J Finley

This may well be the single most important book you will ever read to save lives if you or someone you care about ever needs medical care. That would be everyone! Would it be OK with you if you knew that the physician who was going to take out your gallbladder went to medical school online, in a school that accepted 100% of its applicants who took the easy versions of the science courses in college, "shadowed" some random person in healthcare of no particular specialty for a couple of weeks without ever actually taking care of any patients independently for their clinical training, had to find the random healthcare professional to shadow on their own, because their diploma mill school couldn't be bothered to find clinical training for them, and would switch "specialties" on a whim with no additional training of any kind? This is the real-life scenario with the nurse practitioner diploma mill schools. Does this sound like a good idea to anyone? If you wouldn't accept this from your doctor, why would you accept it from a mid-level who claims to be just like a doctor, only better? The massive difference in quality and quantity of medical education between midlevels and physicians is massive and cannot be discounted, either. Mid-level providers have a place in healthcare, but it is certainly not to be able to practice medicine, and certainly not to see patients with zero oversight from a physician. Midlevels show up to see patients in a long white coat, previously reserved only for attending physicians. Most patients assume they are doctors. My experience is that they allow themselves to be called "doctor" when they are not, and never correct the patients' misperceptions. This deception has to stop. Knowledge is power. Read this book so you can understand why it is critical to insist on physician-led care!