What is the difference between a nurse practitioner and a doctor and why would someone choose to go to a nurse

and why would someone choose to go to a nurse practitioner rather than a doctor?

A nurse practitioner is a Registered Nurse (4 year degree) who then went on to get his or her Masters Degree. Nurse practitioners can do many things that doctors can... which is why they have taken over a lot of functions of doctors, especially in the areas of primary care and gynecology. They often have better "people skills" than medical doctors and work more directly with patients. In these days of very fragmented medical care, doctors are often seen as rushed, distant from patients and overworked. Nurse practitioners are a legitimate choice for some medical visits, especially for basic care.

A Nusre Practitioner has a MS in nursing, while a doctor has a medical doctorate. Nursing is a significantly different job than being a doctor, and requires less training and schooling. Since they are different jobs with different requirements and responsibilities, it depends entirely on what a particular person wants to do as to which they choose.

Nurse practitioners are more holistic - they look at the whole you. They have that bedside manner that many docs never learned in medical school.

Nurse practitioner is the highest level up a nurse can go. They can open their own practices and refer patients to specialists, and can prescribe medicines, which regular nurses can't do. However, they are somewhat limited as to what medicines they can prescribe. I don't know which ones they can't prescribe, but for general health care needs, they're more than sufficient.

NPs can sometimes have a better "bedside manner," which means they can be better with people. Doctors are known for being brilliant, but are not always known for being able to talk with their patients in such a way that they'll understand all the medical jargon. Doctors are also known for being cold or uncaring, which isn't always true, but all nurses are trained to care, to communicate effectively with patients, and to relate to people.

NPs are just as brilliant as doctors, and have nursing experience. Nurses deal with patients for longer periods of time than doctors do. They do the majority of the hands-on caring for hospitalized/institutionalized patients, whereas doctors often stop in once a day or once a week to check up on them. Having nursing experience can mean that NPs might pick up on little details doctors might miss, and might be more in tune with how a patient is feeling emotionally.

I think both doctors and NPs are great, but there can be drawbacks to having either one.