The new health care reform law in the United States will require
everyone to have health insurance. People who avoided going to
the doctor because they had no insurance will be more likely to
visit primary care physicians for minor illnesses. But there's a
shortage of primary care doctors, and nurse practitioners, who
have advanced nursing training, are hoping to fill the gap.
Leslie Henry and Maura Constance are nurse practitioners at the
Arlington Free Clinic in Arlington, Virginia. Henry is examining
a woman who has allergies. "Well, you definitely look like you
have allergies," she says. A nurse practitioner is a registered
nurse who has completed advanced nursing education. "Nurse
practitioners have a lot of the same functions as doctors. We
take classes that look at different systems in the body. The
same thing a doctor would take," says Constance. They learn how
to diagnose and manage common illnesses like colds, or chronic
problems such as diabetes and heart disease. "We assess their
medical problems