Wednesday Journal has run an ad the past two weeks for a new walk-in clinic in River Forest. As a nurse practitioner working in a clinic that offers virtually identical services just two blocks away, I believe that competition is healthy. I wish them well.
I must object, however, to the ad’s message that nurse practitioners offer some kind of inferior care. I am a licensed Advance Practice Nurse in Illinois, and board certified as a Family Nurse Practitioner, meaning I can treat adults and children. I have diagnosed and treated thousands of patients at my clinic for more than five years and believe I offer excellent care. In fact, if you ask them, most of my patients will tell you that nurse practitioners offer care as good as, or sometimes even better than, MDs.
I have no problem with this new clinic opening close by and advertising its services. However, it is not appropriate or professional to advertise by putting down other professionals. Health-care consumers in Oak Park and River Forest should make decisions based on several factors: convenience, cost, wait times, range of services, experience of the practitioners, etc., not by advertisements that demean other, qualified practitioners.
Penelope Strong, RN, APN, FNP-BC
Oak Park
