In the famous play, Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare wrote: "'Tis but thy name that is my enemy…" In the play, Juliet ponders, "What's in a name?" saying it is only Romeo's name that's the enemy. For nurse practitioners (NPs) it is also true the "enemy" is being called mid-level providers (MLPs). Terms like MLP, physician extender, non-physician provider, limited-license provider and allied health provider originated outside of the medical community and are imprecise, misleading, out-of-date and disrespectful. In some cases, terms like "non-physician provider," are also nonsensical. Is a physician a non-nurse? Is an apple a non-orange? Read more.

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