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There is a movement within the field to change the profession's title to "physician associate." This is similar to the title of physician's associate that was used in the early 1970s. [29] It is argued that the word "assistant" no longer accurately portrays the Physician Assistant profession's responsibilities and causes confusion to patients.[30] Out of the 154 accredited PA training programs,[9] Yale School of Medicine,[31] Duke University Health System,[32] University of Oklahoma--Oklahoma City,[33] and Our Lady of the Lake College (which has a provisionally-accredited PA program)[34] offer "physician associate programs" for students who will go on to become licensed as physician assistants. The name change has been publicly supported by 100[citation needed] of the nation's leading and founding physician assistants, as well as the Association of Family Practice Physician Assistants.[35] In July 2011, over six thousand of the nation's 74,000 PAs mailed a statement to the AAPA asking for a change to physician associate. The AAPA Board refused to endorse this issue and suggested it go to the 2012 House of Delegates.

 

I do not cite my sources, it's a real problem. Though you can probably gather where it is from.

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Does not the word assistant connote to patients a more meaningful description than associate? :confused:

 

Not to those people, and not to me.

 

Assistant implies you aren't doing the same job at all.

 

In any other profession the assistant does not do essentially the same job as the professional being assisted.

 

It just has an underling association. In medicine you don't want the patients thinking that. When they hear "associate" they feel a lot more comfortable than "assistant".

 

It's like "you're his assistant? then what the hell are you doing sticking me with that needle, go get his coffee."

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Not to those people, and not to me.

 

Assistant implies you aren't doing the same job at all.

 

They aren't doing the same job and scarcely have any presence in many parts of the country.

 

In any other profession the assistant does not do essentially the same job as the professional being assisted.

 

It just has an underling association. In medicine you don't want the patients thinking that. When they hear "associate" they feel a lot more comfortable than "assistant".

 

It's like "you're his assistant? then what the hell are you doing sticking me with that needle, go get his coffee."

 

Oh please. I think people understand that dental assistants do more than "get coffee" without needing some sort of convoluted name change.

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They aren't doing the same job and scarcely have any presence in many parts of the country.

 

 

 

Oh please. I think people understand that dental assistants do more than "get coffee" without needing some sort of convoluted name change.

 

Aren't they called hygienists?

 

I said "not doing the same job at all".

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PA students do study medicine, however not to the same length as a medical student. Their programs are housed within Faculty of Medicines'. PAs study medicine and then practise medcine under the supervision (direct/indirect) of a MD and act as a physician extender.

 

I don't feel a name change in neccessary.

 

I personally feel that the name changing process is more about PA's inferior complexity syndrome and would like to have a cooler tittle :D

 

If a person want to become a doctor, then study medicine. Why apply to another profession with the mentality of "this is almost like a doctor too" :confused:

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Aren't they called hygienists?

 

I said "not doing the same job at all".

 

Dental hygienists and dental assistants do different jobs. The dental assistant assists the dentist when he/she is working - making sure the dentist has the correct instruments, handling the water/suction while the dentist is working, etc. The assistant is there to assist the dentist, just as the job title implies.

 

The hygienist does a different job. S/he works independently, mainly doing cleanings and regular check-ups, as well as taking x-rays and doing oral cancer screenings. If anything shows up during the hygienists work that needs greater attention, she/he refers the patient to the dentist (ie. if there is evidence of a cavity, or the patient has concerns about any dental work that has been done, etc.)

 

So a dental assistant and a dental hygienist do very different jobs, and the amount of training each receives reflects this.

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Dental hygienists and dental assistants do different jobs. The dental assistant assists the dentist when he/she is working - making sure the dentist has the correct instruments, handling the water/suction while the dentist is working, etc. The assistant is there to assist the dentist, just as the job title implies.

 

The hygienist does a different job. S/he works independently, mainly doing cleanings and regular check-ups, as well as taking x-rays and doing oral cancer screenings. If anything shows up during the hygienists work that needs greater attention, she/he refers the patient to the dentist (ie. if there is evidence of a cavity, or the patient has concerns about any dental work that has been done, etc.)

 

So a dental assistant and a dental hygienist do very different jobs, and the amount of training each receives reflects this.

 

So you think the dental assistant is to the dentist, what the PA is to the physician?

 

The dental assistant does not practice dentistry in any way. Compared to a family practitioner or even emergency medicine physician, the day to day activities of the PA are virtually indistinguishable.

 

Now if a dental assistant practiced dentistry under the supervision of a dentist - then you would have a case. The PA in the case of your example, would be the "hygienist" not the "assistant". Your example served to re-enforce my point.

 

A nurse is a more suitable role to don the title "physician assistant".

 

You're not an assistant you are medical practitioner, and like the article says - it confuses patients. It needs a more accurate title.

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So you think the dental assistant is to the dentist, what the PA is to the physician?

 

The dental assistant does not practice dentistry in any way. Compared to a family practitioner or even emergency medicine physician, the day to day activities of the PA are virtually indistinguishable.

 

Now if a dental assistant practiced dentistry under the supervision of a dentist - then you would have a case. The PA in the case of your example, would be the "hygienist" not the "assistant". Your example served to re-enforce my point.

 

A nurse is a more suitable role to don the title "physician assistant".

 

You're not an assistant you are medical practitioner, and like the article says - it confuses patients. It needs a more accurate title.

 

How do you know how PAs work? I haven't even worked with any, but they lack any kind of independent scope or practice or license, such that they can only do "delegated tasks". Legally they're on the level of clinical clerks and their work coincides more with junior housestaff than anyone else. Their day-to-day activities are "indistinguishable" from fully licensed family physicians or hospital-based consultants, surgeons, other specialists.

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They aren't doing the same job and scarcely have any presence in many parts of the country.

 

Actually, PAs in many specialties do the same job as physicians. And in the vast majority of specialties the job is, if not the same, practically indistinguishable. There are exceptions and newer PAs obviously have less autonomy than experienced PAs but, nonetheless, the job of a physician is to practice medicine (without supervision) and the job of a PA is to practice medicine (with supervision). The only difference in practice is that legal arrangement of supervision which can be direct as a on-site partnership or as remote as a solo PA on site with a supervising physician off-site who is available my phone if the PA needs it. Many experienced emergency medicine PAs in the USA do regular solo ED shifts with no MD around and it works very well.

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How do you know how PAs work? I haven't even worked with any, but they lack any kind of independent scope or practice or license, such that they can only do "delegated tasks". Legally they're on the level of clinical clerks and their work coincides more with junior housestaff than anyone else. Their day-to-day activities are "indistinguishable" from fully licensed family physicians or hospital-based consultants, surgeons, other specialists.

 

You are misinformed, in family medicine in particular, experienced PAs do the same job as physicians in most practices.

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http://medicine.yale.edu/pa/profession/index.aspx

 

http://www.associatenamechange.com/

 

 

http://www.physicianassistantforum.com/forums/showthread.php/25777-An-Open-Letter-to-All-PAs-The-Time-Has-Come-for-a-Professional-Name-Change

 

"Why a Change Is Justified

 

-- The PA role is truly one of partnership; of association and collegiality. We work as associates and have for many years. Our profession’s birth-name in 1965 was physician associate.

 

-- “Physicians assistant” is a generic term. It can mean anything: a person in the office that bills patients, a records assistant, the person that sets up and cleans the exam room, all the way to a certified, licensed PA. The profession must move from this generic name to one that aptly and more accurately describes our function

 

-- In our society, "assistant" denotes a technical job, not a profession.

 

-- PAs are held to the same legal and medical standards as physicians.

 

-- The title is confusing and misleading to our patients and the public in general. Since the name practically guarantees that “physician assistants” will be confused with “medical assistants”, patients are at risk of thinking they are receiving substandard care or expect that after the “assistant” a physician will also be seeing them. Most times this does not happen, nor does the physician or the PA expect it to happen. It is time to have the name mirror the reality that exists.

 

-- The internationalization of PAs is important to the profession. Having to explain that the common meaning of the name “assistant” under-represents our true practice is a barrier, in international forums, to full understanding.

 

-- The above problems also may keep prospective applicants and others away from becoming PAs as they would not want to go through extensive schooling only to become someone's assistant.

 

-- Almost all professions at the level of training of a PA (pharmacy, PT, OT, NP) are or soon will be at the doctorate level. Our education and practice is professional, as should be our title.

 

-- “Assistant” obscures the PA’s true role in the practice. Physicians who might otherwise consider a PA do not hire one as they feel they need someone more than just another "assistant".

 

-- All professions should be able to name their profession. “Physician Assistant” both demeans and misrepresents our profession. It is time to claim the name that is both appropriate and our birthright and discard the one that was forced upon us."

 

http://physician-assistant-ed.com/

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I have mixed feelings about the name change. On the one hand, I don't think "physician associate" is a good descriptive title. On the other hand, I know that "physician assistant" is an even poorer title. Why?

 

When I tell people, who don't already know what a PA is (and that's the majority of people, even nurses and physicians who have heard of PAs before) they look at me like I am insane. They think, as per the title, that the job of a PA is to assist physicians with things such as assisting in the OR, gathering data as ordered, or doing procedures as ordered, taking notes, etc., etc.. They essentially think of it as nursing duties plus a bit more.

 

When I tell people that PAs actually have a license to practice medicine under supervision and that PAs are trained as clinical diagnosticians to make autonomous diagnostic and treatment decisions they go "but that's what physicians do, surely an assistant cannot do that."

 

In fact, on my very first elective rotation in a place where people did not know about PAs I spent the first week being accused, by staff physicians, RTs, and nurses, of LYING about what a PA is. They all thought I was full of it and it was not until my preceptor both spoke on the phone with my program director (a physician) and read the wikipedia article on PAs that I got an apology and was then treated appropriately as a PA clinical clerk (we have the same role as MD clinical clerks).

 

All the time I hear from people that "assistant" is not apt. And they are correct in a sense because in most professions that "assistant" does not practice that profession. PAs actually practice medicine in an arrangement of supervised autonomy, which, for many experienced PAs might only mean an occasional phone conversation with a supervising MD.

 

The truth is, I don't care all that strongly about the name and I doubt it will change in Canada any time soon. That said, there are valid reasons for change. It get's annoying to have to explain to everyone you meet that you actually practice medicine and don't just take notes and get coffee.

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Good post!, jerkstore. :)

 

So you think the dental assistant is to the dentist, what the PA is to the physician?

 

The dental assistant does not practice dentistry in any way. Compared to a family practitioner or even emergency medicine physician, the day to day activities of the PA are virtually indistinguishable.

 

Now if a dental assistant practiced dentistry under the supervision of a dentist - then you would have a case. The PA in the case of your example, would be the "hygienist" not the "assistant". Your example served to re-enforce my point.

 

A nurse is a more suitable role to don the title "physician assistant".

 

You're not an assistant you are medical practitioner, and like the article says - it confuses patients. It needs a more accurate title.

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Does not the word assistant connote to patients a more meaningful description than associate? :confused:

 

 

No. In fact, it usually conjures a false connotation. Patients don't understand why they don't get to see a "doctor" and are sometimes confused as to why they "only saw an assistant"

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Whatever term is used should be universally employed. And wherever PAs are found dealing with conscious patients, there should be literature in the waiting room describing their role and their education.

 

 

Yes, indeed. That is what has been done in all the demonstration sites thus far and in most practices I have seen. Once the role is explained patients are cool with it. But when all they hear is physician "assistant" they often get confused about what qualifications a PA has.

 

A little story: my psychiatry preceptor is a very nice woman and an excellent physician. She first trained and practiced in Israel before coming to Canada and qualifying here with the Royal College. She is a prof. at the DeGroote School of Medicine and is a wonderful teacher. She told me of how her granddaughter, in the USA, had been in a car accident. My preceptor took the next flight out there to be with her. She got to the emergency room and stayed with her daughter and granddaughter. The emergency medicine PA showed up and, not knowing what a PA was at the time, my preceptor freaked out and said she wouldn't let any "assistant" treat her granddaughter and demanded a "doctor" etc., etc.

 

It turned-out that that staff PA had been an emerg PA for over 20 years and the staff MD that night was fresh out of residency. Long story short, the staff MD eventually showed-up and explained that this PA was actually her mentor and that she is more knowledgable and skilled than herself and that she asks her for help all the time. Yet, legally, she was "supervising" the PA. The granddaughter turned out to be fine and my preceptor found out what a PA actually is and now takes on PA clinical clerks.

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Actually, PAs in many specialties do the same job as physicians. And in the vast majority of specialties the job is, if not the same, practically indistinguishable. There are exceptions and newer PAs obviously have less autonomy than experienced PAs but, nonetheless, the job of a physician is to practice medicine (without supervision) and the job of a PA is to practice medicine (with supervision). The only difference in practice is that legal arrangement of supervision which can be direct as a on-site partnership or as remote as a solo PA on site with a supervising physician off-site who is available my phone if the PA needs it. Many experienced emergency medicine PAs in the USA do regular solo ED shifts with no MD around and it works very well.

 

Does it? Standards of care are considerably more variable in the US. I'm not sure why you think that the supervision aspect is a trivial thing.

 

You are misinformed, in family medicine in particular, experienced PAs do the same job as physicians in most practices.

 

How many family medicine clinics in Canada make use of PAs? Otherwise, PAs are not performing surgery, interpreting imaging or other diagnostic tests, or providing anesthesia. They may do the same "job" as some physicians in certain contexts while under supervision, but this is not the same.

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Otherwise, PAs are not performing surgery, interpreting imaging or other diagnostic tests, or providing anesthesia. They may do the same "job" as some physicians in certain contexts while under supervision, but this is not the same.

 

 

PAs in Canada are performing surgery and are interpreting both imaging and diagnostic tests. You really are misinformed.

 

If you are in the GTA I would be happy to arrange for you to work with a PA for a day and you can see for yourself.

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So they're doing Whipples and appe's indepedently and signing off on radiology reports and echos?

 

You have a disrespectful tone about you, A Stark, that has now reminded me of how disrespectful and inappropriate you were in previous threads about PAs. I have already explained to you what PAs are and what PAs do yet you persist. You can easily read about PAs online or take me up on my offer to work with one yet you don't.

 

I know PAs who do appendectomies and I know PAs who do a lot of other surgical procedures. I do not personally know for certain a PA who does whipples from start to finish and, whether that is the case or not, is hardly relevant to what I said. And, as I already said, I do know PAs who sign off on radiology reports (and echos).

 

I think I will now take the approach to you that I took in previous threads when you were behaving in this way, an approach I would have continued if I had remembered you before you so kindly reminded me by demonstrating this unprofessional behaviour once again. The approach is to ignore you. I will not be directly answering any of your posts any more. When I first decided to ignore you my private message box filled-up with supportive messages from people telling me what they thought of you (including some who claimed to know you in-person). I will no longer engage you.

 

I am on here to answer questions about PAs to those who honestly are seeking that knowledge, not to debate with troublemakers.

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