On Fridays, Stephanie Johnson has a busy schedule, driving her navy-blue Jeep from one patient\u2019s home to the next, seeing eight in all. Pregnant with her second child, she schleps a backpack instead of a traditional black bag to carry a laptop and essential medical supplies \u2014 stethoscope, blood pressure cuff, and pulse oximeter.<\/p>\n
Forget a lunch break; she often eats a sandwich or some nuts as she heads to her next patient visit.<\/p>\n
On a gloomy Friday in January, Johnson, a nurse practitioner who treats older adults, had a hospice consult with Ellen, a patient in her 90s in declining health. To protect Ellen\u2019s identity, KFF Health News is not using her last name.<\/p>\n
\u201cHello. How are you feeling?\u201d Johnson asked as she entered Ellen\u2019s bedroom and inquired about her pain. The blinds were drawn. Ellen was in a wheelchair, wearing a white sweater, gray sweatpants, and fuzzy socks. A headband was tied around her white hair. As usual, the TV was playing loudly in the background.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s fine, except this cough I\u2019ve had since junior high,\u201d Ellen said.<\/p>\n
Ellen had been diagnosed with vascular dementia, peripheral vascular disease, and Type 2 diabetes. Last fall, doctors made the difficult decision to operate on her foot. Before the surgery, Ellen was always colorful, wearing purple, yellow, blue, pink, and chunky necklaces. She enjoyed talking with the half dozen other residents at her adult family home in Washington state. She had a hearty appetite that brought her to the breakfast table early. But lately, her enthusiasm for meals and socializing had waned.<\/p>\n
Johnson got down to eye level with Ellen to examine her, assessing her joints and range of motion, checking her blood pressure, and listening to her heart and lungs.<\/p>\n
Carefully, Johnson removed the bandage to examine Ellen\u2019s toes. Her lower legs were red but cold to the touch, which indicated her condition wasn\u2019t improving. Ellen\u2019s two younger sisters had power of attorney for her and made it clear that, above all, they wanted her to be comfortable. Now, Johnson thought it was time to have that difficult conversation with them about Ellen\u2019s prognosis, recommending her for hospice.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur patient isn\u2019t just the older adult,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cIt\u2019s also often the family member or the person helping to manage them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nurse practitioners are having those conversations more and more as their patient base trends older. They are increasingly filling a gap that is expected to widen as the senior population explodes and the number of geriatricians declines. The Health Resources and Services Administration projects a 50% increase<\/a> in demand for geriatricians from 2018 to 2030, when the entire baby boom generation will be older than 65. By then, hundreds of geriatricians are expected to retire or leave the specialty, reducing their number to fewer than 7,600, with relatively few young doctors joining the field.<\/p>\n That means many older adults will be relying on other primary care physicians, who already can\u2019t keep up with demand<\/a>, and nurse practitioners, whose ranks are booming. The number of nurse practitioners specializing in geriatrics has more than tripled since 2010, increasing the availability of care to the current population of seniors, a recent study<\/a> in JAMA Network Open found.<\/p>\n According to a 2024 survey<\/a>, of the roughly 431,000 licensed nurse practitioners, 15% are, like Johnson, certified to treat older adults.<\/p>\n Johnson and her husband, Dustin, operate an NP-led private practice in greater Seattle, Washington, a state where she can practice independently. She and her team, which includes five additional nurse practitioners, each try to see about 10 patients a day, visiting each one every five to six weeks. Visits typically last 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the case.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are so many housebound older adults, and we\u2019re barely reaching them,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cFor those still in their private homes, there\u2019s such a huge need.\u201d<\/p>\n Laura Wagner, a professor of nursing and community health systems at the University of California-San Francisco, stressed that nurse practitioners are not trying to replace doctors; they\u2019re trying to meet patients\u2019 needs, wherever they may be.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the things I\u2019m most proud of is the role of nurse practitioners,\u201d she said. \u201cWe step into places where other providers may not, and geriatrics is a prime example of that.\u201d<\/p>\n Practice Limits<\/strong><\/p>\n Nurse practitioners are registered nurses with advanced training that enables them to diagnose diseases, analyze diagnostic tests, and prescribe medicine. Their growth has bolstered primary care, and, like doctors, they can specialize in particular branches of medicine. Johnson, for example, has advanced training in gerontology.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we have a geriatrician shortage, then hiring more nurse practitioners trained in geriatrics is an ideal solution,\u201d Wagner said, \u201cbut there are a lot of barriers in place.\u201d<\/p>\n In 27 states and Washington, D.C., nurse practitioners can practice independently. But in the rest of the country, they need to have a collaborative agreement with or be under the supervision of another health care provider to provide care to older adults. Medicare generally reimburses for nurse practitioner services at 85% of the amount<\/a> it pays physicians.<\/p>\n Last year, in more than 40 states<\/a>, the American Medical Association and its partners lobbied against what they see as \u201cscope creep\u201d in the expanded roles of nurse practitioners and other health workers. The AMA points out that doctors must have more schooling and significantly more clinical experience than nurse practitioners. While the AMA says physician-led teams<\/a> keep costs lower, a study published in 2020 in Health Services Research<\/a> found similar patient outcomes and lower costs for nurse practitioner patients. Other studies, including one published in 2023<\/a> in the journal Medical Care Research and Review, have found health care models including nurse practitioners had better outcomes for patients with multiple chronic conditions than teams without an NP.<\/p>\n Five states have granted NPs full practice authority since 2021, with Utah the most recent state to remove physician supervision requirements<\/a>, in 2023. In March, however, Mississippi House Bill 849<\/a>, which would have increased NP independence, failed. Meanwhile, 30 Texas physicians<\/a> rallied to tamp down full-scope efforts in Austin.<\/p>\n \u201cI would fully disagree that we\u2019re invading their scope of practice and shouldn\u2019t have full scope of our own,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n She has worked under the supervision of physicians in Pennsylvania and Washington state but started seeing patients at her own practice in 2021. Like many nurse practitioners, she sees her patients in their homes. The first thing she does when she gets a new patient is manage their prescriptions, getting rid of unnecessary medications, especially those with harsh side effects.<\/p>\n She works with the patient and a family member who often has power of attorney. She keeps them informed of subtle changes, such as whether a person was verbal and eating and whether their medical conditions have changed.<\/p>\n While there is some overlap in expertise between geriatricians and nurse practitioners, there are areas where nurses typically excel, said Elizabeth White, an assistant professor of health services, policy, and practice at Brown University.<\/p>\n \u201cWe tend to be a little stronger in care coordination, family and patient education, and integrating care and social and medical needs. That\u2019s very much in the nursing domain,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n That care coordination will become even more critical as the U.S. ages. Today, about 18% of the U.S. population is 65 or over. In the next 30 years, the share of seniors is expected to reach 23%, as medical and technological advances enable people to live longer.<\/p>\n Patient and Family<\/strong><\/p>\n In an office next to Ellen\u2019s bedroom, Johnson called Ellen\u2019s younger sister Margaret Watt to recommend that Ellen enter hospice care. Johnson told her that Ellen had developed pneumonia and her body wasn\u2019t coping.<\/p>\n Watt appreciated that Johnson had kept the family apprised of Ellen\u2019s condition for several years, saying she was a good communicator.<\/p>\n \u201cShe was accurate,\u201d Watt said. \u201cWhat she said would happen, happened.\u201d<\/p>\n A month after the consult, Ellen died peacefully in her sleep.<\/p>\n \u201cI do feel sadness,\u201d Johnson said, \u201cbut there\u2019s also a sense of relief that I\u2019ve been with her through her suffering to try to alleviate it, and I\u2019ve helped her meet her and her family\u2019s priorities in that time.\u201d<\/p>\n Jariel Arvin is a reporter with the <\/em>Investigative Reporting Program<\/em><\/a> at the University of California-Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. He reported this article through a grant from <\/em>The SCAN Foundation<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n KFF Health News<\/a> is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF\u2014an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF<\/a>.<\/p>\nUSE OUR CONTENT<\/h3>\n