I think i have pneumonia but im not too sure!

While PA's have significantly less training than a doctor, Registered Nurse Practitioners have not only a Master' degree or PhD in nursing, but also 6000 hours of RN in person practice before they can be a RNP, taking significant course work & a registry exam.

In fact, our health clinic Urgent Care is staffed with RNPs, not PA's for just this reason. And the South Texas "stand-alone" ERs, their equivalent of Urgent Care, are staffed with both, with a connection to a triage doc as needed.

PS My daughter, an ER nurse for years, would have sent you directly to the ER - her rule of thumb -"If you might need an IV, go to the ER"

My point exactly! In fact an astute, experienced nurse, if reviewing your symptoms, history etc. could have very well been able to identify signs/symptoms of C-Diff! Many of the NP's graduate from a BSN program and go directly into a Practitioner Program with absolutely no clinic (Hospital, Clinic, LTC) experience and are not mentored by a physician upon employment! Let me see an experienced, over 20 years, RN (or LPN in some cases) that has had direct patient care contact rather than an NP who has just graduated from NP school. To boot, the insurance companies are charged just the same as if you had seen a physician.

My point exactly! In fact an astute, experienced nurse, if reviewing your symptoms, history etc. could have very well been able to identify signs/symptoms of C-Diff! Many of the NP's graduate from a BSN program and go directly into a Practitioner Program with absolutely no clinic (Hospital, Clinic, LTC) experience and are not mentored by a physician upon employment! Let me see an experienced, over 20 years, RN (or LPN in some cases) that has had direct patient care contact rather than an NP who has just graduated from NP school. To boot, the insurance companies are charged just the same as if you had seen a physician.

Please, do not denigrate NP and PA's - they are the first line of care for many people, and are as capable of ordering x-rays and other diagnostic tests as a physician. Many are better at dealing with viral illnesses than the docs, because they see them al day, every day

Also, since it was Urgent Care, the NP advice may well be based on what is being seen in their community right now. Recently my grandsons had the same range of symptoms for over 10 days each, and it was just a nasty virus that is working its way through their school. That said, at 10 days, a chest x-ray was ordered for each of them - no pneumonia.

Given the way our healthcare system is organized with profit driven private insurance, and so people know who is treating them, I would suggest we have clearer designations - MD, NP and PA most people would not be well informed. So why not something like Medical Level 1, 2 3? Actually Medicare coding makes a distinction between high level, moderate level , low level decision making for when one sees an Specialist vs someone else.
I found the following definitions on differences
Nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) are both important roles in healthcare, but they have some key differences, including:
• Training model - NPs train using the nursing model, while PAs train using the medical model.
• Specialization - NPs often specialize in a patient population, such as family, pediatrics, or women's health. PAs are trained as generalists, but can specialize in an area of medicine, such as emergency or internal medicine.
• Practice authority In more than half of US states, NPs have full practice authority, meaning they can work independently. PAs always work under a doctor's supervision.
• Education - NPs typically complete six to eight years of education, including undergraduate and graduate-level training. PAs need a master's degree and patient care experience
A nursing model training focuses on a holistic approach to patient care, considering the patient as a whole person and their environment, while a medical model training primarily focuses on diagnosing and treating the disease itself, with a more biological and disease-centered perspective; essentially, nursing looks at the "whole person" while medicine focuses on the specific pathology causing the illness

I don't think this is to denigrate NP and PAs. This is to acknowledge that institutions are using NPs and PAs because there is a shortage of MDs and/or NPs and PAs cost less than an MD.
The fact remains that NPs an PAs have less training and much less clinical requirements. They can make the doctor more efficient, but they should not be making a diagnosis. Where was the triage in this case?
I remember going to Urgent Care in Florida on a Sunday for extreme diarrehia and weakness. I had had a flu shot that week. The PA sent me home saying the cause was my flu shot even though I told him I had been on antibiotics for 10 days and asked him if that could be the cause. (I had read the enclosure to antibiotics!) . No blood work, no stool test. The next day I called my doctor and over the phone she sent me to the Emergency room, and I was in the hospital for a week with C-diff. My potassium was so low I could have been in real difficulty! And I have been given incorrect information from NPs on more than one occassion. I have friends who say the same.
We want our medical personnel trained to the maximum and we should make going to school very cheap for specializations that we need very much and all benefit from.

I have reactions from antibiotics C-Diff to be exact. . I have had arguments with nps, pas , anesthetists , even Doctors . They do not want to speak of C-Diff. Let alone admit you are having an attack of it . It is the “unspeakable ailment”. I have to refuse antibiotics until they finally will give me Vancomycin. I got them to hang. Bag of it while I had cervical spine surgery . I live in northern Michigan . It is a medical desert. One has to advocate for themself . People over 65 ( I am 80) on average do not do well with C-Diff . I will not take any antibiotic until they do a culture . Many times antibiotics are prescribed for a virus which it cannot effect . The C diff bacteria also feeds on fructose. Diet has a BIG effect on it . Hang on , the ride gets rough from here. Crystalina