Abstract
Abstract: As the nation's healthcare systems face a worsening physician shortage, there is a need to adapt to meet the provider staffing and care demands of our ever-changing population. The nation's physician workforce is aging with an average age of a physician being over 50 years, and the pediatric subspecialties nationwide are seeing insufficient enrollment numbers of physicians related to an increase in demand and lack of educational funding. Urban pediatric academic medical centers sit in the crosshairs of this troubling physician shortage. EBSCOhost was searched for current research and literature that examine the use of nurse practitioners among surgical services and populations. In evaluating the current research and literature, there is support for nurse practitioners to be the provider who delivers continuity of care; reduces adverse patient outcomes by shortening lengths of stay; and improves patient education, health compliance, and patient satisfaction in a cost-effective holistic manner without any of the educational demands that restrict residents. Healthcare leaders need to have a frank and open dialog about how to best address the increasingly complex patient care staffing needs, and nurse practitioners are poised to fill the ever-growing provider gap.