You might be use to seeing a doctor for your primary care needs, but let's not pretend that there is a HUGE physician shortage that is getting worse and worse by the day.
Medical schools just can't produce enough doctors annually to meet the rising demand of medical needs and the demand from an every growing aging population.
This is where the nurse practitioner comes in. A nurse practitioner is a nurse that possesses education and skills further builds upon registered nurse's, and allows them to make diagnoses and prescribe based off their assessment.
However, while a medical doctor will go to school for 4 years and go to residency for another 4 years, a nurse practitioner will finish within 2-4 years. And because of this disparity in education and training, the scope of practice for nurse practitioners has been variable from state to state.
The scope is further divided into statutes and regulations, whereas, status are laws made by a legislature and regulations are laws made by an agency. Regulations can be overridden by statutes. It's important to know the difference to understand why nurse practitioners practice the way they do and what limitations they may have.
Therefore, if you're asking to be prescribed controlled medications, it may be the case that the nurse practitioner can't prescribe that particular medication, even if he or she may think it's appropriate. In this case, if you're particularly bothered by this situation, it is always an option for the public to contact a state legislature to introduce a bill to change the current statute. If it is a regulation that needs to be changed, the organization that created the regulation must be convinced that it should be changed.
So yes, the current state of nurse practitioner practice is evolving, especially as they become more and more prevalent as your next primary care provider.
If you're tired of waiting days to weeks to see a doctor, then consider seeing a nurse practitioner. You just may get the care you need more immediately, and you may just find that they have more time to listen to you. Also, the nice thing is that they can always consult with their supervising physician if your case more complicated than most.