19
m m m zinew s
I
n these times o f rising medical costs, high
unemployment and many uninsured indi
viduals, finding affording health care can
he a challenge. W hereas a visit to the doc
tor can set you hack a few hundred dollars,
a nurse practitioner might offer the same service
at a fraction o f the price.
Nurse practitioners are nurses with masters
degrees and advanced training who can perform
many o f the same functions as physicians.
Depending on their training, NPs can diagnose
illnesses, prescribe medication, give pap smears
and perform minor surgery in their offices.
A family practice nurse practitioner works in much
the same way a family practice physician works.
They even take most health insurance plans.
Teri Bunker is one such NP. T h e out lesbian
family nurse practitioner recently opened Bridge
City Family Medical C lin ic in Northeast Port
land. She sees patients of all ages, from new
borns to elderly adults.
Bunker says some people prefer NPs to regular
medical doctors. “I think what you find with nurse
practitioners is that because we come from a base
of nursing, it tends to he a more holistic approach
to health care. People say that we listen better to
them and we spend more time with them.”
Nurse practitioners can specialize, much like
doctors, in areas such as geriatric, pediatric or
psychiatric care. Certified nurse-mid wives spe
cialize in pregnancy, deliver babies and tend to
newborn health care.
The first nurse practitioners were trained at
University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in
Denver in 1965. A shortage in health care
providers led a nurse educator and a physician to
establish a program to give nurses the skills need
ed to take on more responsibilities. At the time,
the only way nurses could advance in their careers
"I think what you find
with nurse practitioners
is that because we come
from a base o f nursing,
it tends to be a more
holistic approach to
health care. People say
that we listen better to
them and we spend
more time with them."
T he C ure
Nurse practitioners help fill
medical gap by Kathy Beige
was to go into administration or teaching. This
was also the era of President Lyndon Johnson's
War on Poverty. Neighborhixxl health clinics
were being established, hut there was not adequate
medical staff to run them. Training nurse practi
tioners helped fill the medical gap and allowed
nurses the opportunity to grow in their careers.
Today more than 850 nurse practitioners are
licensed in Oregon. The laws that guide NPs differ
from state to state. In order to he certified in Ore
gon, NPs must he licensed as a registered nurse,
obtain a master’s degree in nursing and receive cer
tification from an approved schtxil. In Oregon,
NPs are allowed independent practices and can
admit patients to hospitals. In fact, in many parts
of mral Oregon where there simply are not enough
doctors, nurse practitioners fill health care gaps.
Nurse practitioners can he an affordable
option for those without health insurance.
Often people with no insurance cannot get in to
see a doctor.
“My phone has been ringing off the hcxik
with those people who can’t get health care any
where else,” Bunker says. In a time when many
providers arc not seeing patients who are on the
Oregon Health Plan, she does. She also takes
many other insurance plans like Blue Cross Blue
Shield and Providence.
To the insurance companies, it doesn’t mat
ter whether patients see an NP or an MD. “They
consider me to he a primary care provider, just
Your Finances
Your Lifestyle
Your Future
— Teri Bunker
like the physician,” Bunker says. “1 am an equal
choice, not a lesser-than choice.”
Bunker can prescribe most medications, treat
most ailments and advise on most preventative
health care. There are only a few medications
she cannot prescribe. Although some practition
ers have hospital admitting privileges, she chcxxs-
es not to hut works with several physicians who
can hospitalize her patients when they need it.
Prior to opening her own clinic, Bunker spent
four years working for the Clackamas County
Health Department. Although she is trained to
treat most illnesses, she has received special
recognition for her collaborative work with dia
betics; last year the Oregon Primary Care Asstxri-
ation presented her with an outstanding clinician
award. fflt was a big deal,” she says.
Bunker claims not to have run into any homo
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phobia in her career, hut she has
had some awkward moments.
One time, right in the middle of
a pap smear, a patient with her legs wide open in
the stirrups asked her, “So, are you married ? ' “I’m
thinking, 1 don’t know if this is really a gixxl time
to tell you I’m a lesbian,” Bunker laughs.
She also stmggles with her identity as a nurse
practitioner. Many of her patients call her “doctor."
“It gets hard to always correct that,” she says.
"Yet, when I don’t, I only contribute to my own
invisibility.”
She asks her patients to call her Teri. “I don’t
like to Lxvk at my relationship [with my
patients] as I’m up here and they’re down there,”
she adds. "I really think 1 am this person you can
com e to and together we can come to a solution
about what’s right for you." J H
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