Seniors

I have seen both in the past but in the last few years my doctor sees me for the annual checkups. If I have to go in without much notice and they have to work me in, I usually see a PA or a NP.

I don't mind - in 2017 a visit with the NP probably saved my life. I'd had shortness of breath for several years. She noticed a heart murmur which the doctor had not seen at a previous visit only a few months earlier. I was sent to a cardiologist and underwent a series of tests that showed a calcified aortic valve which needed to be replaced - only 40% of the blood was making its way through!

More tests on the way to getting a replacement valve showed a mass on my left kidney that would not have been found in time otherwise. Normally by the time the cancer showed symptoms, it would have spread. Because the heart tests and scans showed it early, they were able to remove the kidney before that.

If it had not been for that NP, not only would my "shortness of breath" worsened until I had heart damage, the cancer would have killed me. I will happily see whichever medical professional they have available.