Physician and patient acceptance of emergency nurse practitioners

Patient and physician attitudes toward emergency nurse practitioners (ENP) were surveyed in our emergency medical service. The responses to the questionnaires indicated a high degree of satisfaction with the ENP similar to that reported in a survey of patient reaction to physician assistants (PA) in the emergency department. In our emergency medical service, physicians expressed a concern over the practitioner's care of the emergent patient. Their confidence in the practitioner's clinical judgment was greater in their care of nonurgent and urgent patients.