As Texas grapples with a shortage of primary care physicians across the state, patients may more frequently find their care managed by a nurse practitioner rather than a physician.
This shortage can be attributed to an ongoing lack of medical students choosing to become primary care physicians, said Cara Young, an associate professor at The University of Texas who is also the director of the university’s family nurse practitioner program.
This was made worse, she said, by a wave of retirements that came during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and the following years.
To meet the needs of primary care patients, many medical practices and clinics are choosing to staff nurse practitioners, who can provide holistic care focused on wellness of the whole person as well as coordinate specialty care. About 72% of nurse practitioners in Texas are licensed in an area of primary care, according to a 2022 report from Texas Nurse Practitioners.
