(WSJ) – Employers are clamoring for workers who can do doctor-like work but who are trained faster and can cost them less

These days, heading to the doctor’s office often doesn’t involve a doctor. At least not directly. Instead, nurse practitioners have become major gap fillers, growing their ranks by 60% to 461,000 between 2019 and 2025, data from the American Association of Nurse Practitioners show. 

Physician assistants who can fill similar roles are also in high demand, as are other non-MD health providers. They are all part of a broader trend to push basic care beyond the doctor’s office. In many states, for example, pharmacists now prescribe medications such as contraceptives and flu treatments. (Read More)