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So, I’ve had some job upheavals lately, and I think there are some good enough reasons to share in terms of lessons learned: First, in late summer I was prepared to move to rural Alaska, where I’d been doing short-term Locums work before, with excellent rapport with the staff and patients. This is for a non-profit FQHC, but not a native corporation. I was offered a salary at the 25th percentile; I countered with agreeing to that salary... if converted to hourly and non-exempt. They said “no, we don’t do that” and offered a 50th percentile package instead, which I agreed to. The week after that, the CEO texts me to tell me that he has been let go by the board, and HR confirms my (signed) offer is “on hold” Cue essentially a month of silence, but before they actually confirm that they’re looking elsewhere for a cheaper provider, I hear of this through headhunters with whom I have a preexisting relationship. Cue some more weeks of waiting, and I am paid a modest settlement for their reneging on a signed offer for no particularly good reason. My house, for what it’s worth, is still partially packed up for the Alaskan move. Observation #1: Most nonprofits are managed incompetently. Do not expect them to know how to negotiate, or to be able to follow through with what has been negotiated. So, I un-resign from my various Washington jobs, but a few weeks later, my family/occ med job fires me via email, with the stated justification that I refused to see patients... which were scheduled outside my working hours. Flimsy, stupid pretext, but not an overtly discriminatory one, but neither was it one that attacked my patient care. So, this is a consistent, ~20 hr/week job, so I need to replace that income, because I can’t keep paying all the bills JUST on my eating disorders 1099 job. Signs I should have seen this coming? MD proprietor had fired the practice manager without a replacement, MA who’d been with this doc for 30 years quit on the basis of how the practice manager was treated, NP in talks with the doc to buy the practice. Observation #2: Sometimes, making money hand-over-fist for the practice isn’t enough to keep your job secure. So, I bit the bullet and let my extended networks know I had been fired—first time in my life, BTW: almost made it to 50 without being fired. Ended up with 3 leads inside 48 hours, had a signed offer letter in 9 days from an interventional pain clinic, which actually offered full time, but I’m doing 2-3 days/week through the end of the year, at pretty much the same pay I was getting in family/occ med... and they’re letting my long-term occ med patients continue to see me. Observation #3: Sometimes, having a diverse “box checking” CV is really helpful. Observation #4: Networking is life. Things that I believe helped me slide over into interventional pain: previous experience with tapering opiates for high-MED occ med patients, DEA X-waiver in hand, point of care ultrasound and joint injection experience, and that I’ve been credentialed multiple times with all the major local insurances through my various jobs--In addition to the family/occ med from which I’d been fired by email and the eating disorders work I mentioned, I fill in at a sleep center occasionally. They needed someone because their current PA is taking a VA job, and someone in my network knew that. So, in my experience, switching specialties is easiest to do when the specialties overlap in practice, if not so much in theory. Family med at first, then adding occupational med in year 3 of practice, adding sleep med in year 5, moving into eating disorders in year 7, and now interventional pain in year 8. Each employment shift brought my existing practice to bear, and yet prompted me to add something new to the toolbox. Observation #5: Maintaining a situation where you can “walk away” from a toxic employment environment if necessary is a matter of perpetual CV polishing and personal readiness. Just when you think you have everything balanced well for you, something, somewhere, changes: The SP you love retires and closes his practice. A practice implodes due to mismanagement. Covid-19 hits. Keeping a strong CV, staying debt free, keeping multiple state licenses, keeping up on your “merit badges” like ACLS, and not being dependent on any employer’s benefit packages are also keys to minimal family disruption during an unexpected job change.

I got an interview!!! I’m literally crying at work because I’m a 4th time reapplicant...never give up you guys!! I applied mid May 2020

So, this year I helped out at the 11/7 interviews. I don't believe I interviewed any of you who posted here, but I did for six folks. Unfortunately, due to Covid-19 and security and whatnot, this is the first year I wasn't able to review the full files of the applicants like I had done in years past--just a summary. This makes me a bit sad, because it's actually really cool to read the applicant statements, see the PCE/HCE, and grades, and just imagine all the hard work people have put in to get to this point. At any rate, as I've said with the last several years' candidates, the interviews were filled with enthusiastic, articulate, hard-working folks, and our job hasn't ever been to separate success from failure, but really to find who among the competent, qualified applicants are going to be the best fit for *this* program. It's truly a tragedy of riches; I did not see a single applicant who was not ready for PA school--and yet, some will have interviewed well, others quite not so much. If you didn't get selected right away, don't despair: the wait list can and will move (although how soon and by how much is anyone's guess), and there is always next year's application cycle.

We posted this to pour social media platforms this morning. It will be followed with an email and a snail mail to the AMA president. Greetings, I am writing today as president of PAs for Tomorrow, a national PA advocacy group, in regard to recent social media posts regarding “physician-led healthcare” in the AMA’s social media platforms. There are material inaccuracies as well as a dividing of the world into physician and non-physician groups which, in the current state of medicine and healthcare delivery, is intellectually lazy and borderline fear mongering. It is time to speak clearly without political agenda or self-interest masked under the false flag of patient safety. The AMA, and other physician groups, have found it convenient to paint every non-physician healthcare provider with the same broad brush. I suppose it is easier, but in a group that professes to represent evidence-based science, it is dishonest. You discuss research to prove an opinion you have already decided is true. That is not how research works. Research leads you to the truth, whatever that truth may be. So please, let me be clear. PAs do not aspire to replace physicians or practice independently. PAs are not the enemy of physicians. Please be direct and honest regarding who and what you are discussing when you take a stand on issues. If you want to talk about PAs, then let us talk about PAs, and let us talk about facts without fear mongering. Respectfully, Scott A. Stegall PhD, PA-C President PAs For Tomorrow

Excellent! Possibly the best response ever! again another “no BS tolerated” response from AAPA. Join the AAPA! https://www.aapa.org/news-central/2020/11/aapas-response-to-amas-stopscopecreep-campaign/?fbclid=IwAR2-p77KSe8ttL3EUHxcYDJfjkzKH-Hy0vkjb3U129_cw0yw7rPvvj-Vd-Q

Hello everyone! I also applied before the priority deadline and decided to email Admissions. This is the response I got today: "Priority deadline applicants should hear from us by the end of this month regarding application status/decisions." I hope that helps calm the nerves a bit! Wishing all of you the best~

I'm just a student, so apologies if I've stepped out of my lane. However, the more thought I give to MCP, it doesn't seem so bad. What comes to mind are other generic title acronyms like EMT: Emergency Medical Technician. That's a relatively generic name but implies the point "I am a technician that provides emergency medical care". No one second guesses what an EMT is anymore, even if 99% of EMTs do not actually provide emergency medical care. Now, with MCP: "I am a practitioner, who provides xyz medical care"... Medical care is generic as generic gets, but if you lead up to the "medical care" part of the title WITH YOUR SPECIALTY, for example; EM guys/gals - an Emergency Medical Care Practitioner. Ortho folks; Orthopedic Medical Care Practitioner. Urologic medical care practitioner. Cardio-thoracic Medical Care Practitioner. Voluntarily drop the "care" for introductions, if you please, just to streamline the delivery; Emergency Medical Practitioner. Not so bad. Patients will be able to associate the role of "Practitioner" with the type of care provided. I work with a lot of NPs and they don't say "Hey, I am John, the Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner." He is "John, the NP". And I'll tell you what, the vast majority of my patients/family know what an NP is without hesitation, just due to exposure over the years. But a decade ago, when I would make an appt at my PCP and the clerk would say I'm booked for "Cindy the Nurse Practitioner at 4pm", I didn't know wtf a Nurse Practitioner was, but as a patient, I eventually figured it out: someone with a higher level of education who can prescribe me those Abx jawns, and that's all I cared about. Some patients may be perturbed by hearing "assistant." However, toss out "assistant" for "practitioner" and I guarantee nobody will think twice about it. "Practitioner" is common tongue and associated with some "advanced medical care person". To the lay person, "Assistant" has never and will never be associated with anything "advanced", regardless if you tell them 1000 times that PA's are advanced. Critical thinking is slim pickings. At the end of the day, most patients just want to be treated, and treated well. If you screw up, it doesn't matter what your title is... MD, RN, Plumber... they'll remember you and associate you with shit care until the day they die. Be a GOOD MCP --> win patient trust --> make hospital admins happy --> everyone that matters is happy. I think the name change should be dealt with swiftly and attention turned back to bigger fish like FPA and rebuilding that relationship with the VA. Also, maybe the AAPA and AMA can find common ground in combating the NP creep. MCPs and MDs can be a unified force, instead of belligerents in a three-sided war. We need docs, and docs need us, but the idea that mid-levels can replace docs is dangerous. Forums like SDN and /r/residency can spread all the hate they want about NPs, but PAs (MCPs) should do all they can do avoid that negative attention. Some of you may think anecdotal rhetoric on internet forums/social media is nonsense and shouldn't be used as a metric to gauge the bigger picture... but this is the internet age, where platforms like reddit/twitter and forum boards influence millions upon millions of opinions, even swaying national elections. As a student, it disheartening to hear some of you consider jumping ship to NP. Honestly, that's not even a lateral transfer, its a downgrade. If you're so hell bent on being a completely independent clinician, go to med school. NPs have a healthy head start, but that gap can be closed. While we argue over semantics of MCP, the NPs conquer entire states and with them thousands of jobs. Time to move forward, quickly.

Praxician bombed in the survey so hard with everyone. Physician associate did well within our own profession, but was seen as a lesser level provider by everyone else. Physicians stated they were more likely and willing to work with and associate with a MCP. Patients were more likely to recommend visits with MCP. Employers saw MCP as a higher level provider. Basically WPP said you can go with physician associate, but you're just going to get more of the same and the juice wouldn't be worth the squeeze.

Hey all, current student of MBKU here (graduating in one week) when I applied in 2017 I did not hear until mid to late November and I was an early applicant. I know you're all very anxious and excited, just be patient they will get to you. And enjoy the free time before beginning school because it won't exist once you start!

Ill be first in line. I put a lot worse experimental things in my body in the 70"s. This is why I can't run for president.

We should be hearing anytime from now and December 18th! I called and asked!

Hey everyone! Hopefully all us priority deadline applicants hear back soon! Hopefully we all get interviews! Good luck everyone!!!

When I spoke to admissions director she mentioned priority applications hear in November and anyone that applied after sept 1 usually hears back in mid December. I think it’s two interviews in December for priority and two interview dates in January for all applications based on last year posts. good luck everyone!

Summary: Our natural inclination is to judge a title from our own perspective, what makes sense to us, but the purpose of a title is the other way around, to help those outside our profession understand who we are. To determine if a title is effective, you have to put yourself in the shoes of a regular person outside of healthcare who doesn't know the role or training of a Physician Assistant (which is the majority of people). Rather than starting from a point where you need to convince someone that we're more than an Assistant, we can use language they already know to start off on the right foot by identifying ourselves as Practitioners of Medical Care. Healthcare Professions Made Easy A Medical Doctor/Physician has a doctorate and 3+ years of specialized residency training in the medical model of care. A Medical Care Practitioner has a master's degree and training in the medical model of care. A Nurse Practitioner has a master's degree and training in the nursing model of care. A Nurse has an associates or bachelor's degree and training in the nursing model of care. Medical Assistants, Clinical Assistants and Nursing Assistants have a certificate or associates degree. The top 10 criticisms of Medical Care Practitioner Medical Care Practitioner sounds clunky and awkward. Any brand new title will sound awkward at first. People adapt and terms start to feel normal quicker than you would think. Clunky beats confusing when introducing yourself, especially in healthcare. Medical Care Practitioner is too vague and generic. Physician Assistant would sound vague if you were hearing it for the first time too. The more you hear Medical Care Practitioner connected with this profession the less generic it will sound. That's how language works. Words become meaningful through use. It may not sound as vague to those outside of healthcare, but vague is okay as a starting point. We can make it our own with time. Vague beats bizarre or misleading. We're far better off being paired with Medical Doctors and Nurse Practitioners than Medical Assistants and Nursing Assistants as a first impression. Changing titles would erase the work we've done to educate patients on the role of Physician Assistants. The PA name is tied to fond memories and pride for so many of us and I completely understand why those in the profession would feel attached to it, but we don't have to give up our memories or pride with a new title. Nor do we have to give up the trust we've earned from our current patients. The patients who value us truly do not care what we call ourselves. There will likely be a transition period where our business cards read "Medical Care Practitioner/Physician Assistant" and we'll need to tell folks about the change, but it won't be as bad as it may seem, people will quickly learn that Medical Care Practitioner is simply a new name for Physician Assistants, like Nissan was for Datsun. It won't erase our history or be confusing to patients who already understand our role. The real benefit is for future patients and those who don't understand our role. Medical Care Practitioner offers a more intuitive starting point. It causes people unfamiliar with our profession to start off with the positive impression that we're just as capable as other Practitioners of Medicine (rather than just as limited as other assistants). We've tried to get over the stigma of being Assistants of Physicians for 50 years but it won't go away until we fix the root cause. Physician Associate is an easier improvement to Physician Assistant. You're right, keeping PA would be easier in the short term, but it's not the best long term solution for patients, employers, or law makers to understand our role in healthcare. An Associate in a law firm is often a junior, non-terminal position. It's what new graduates are called who are seeking to become partners in the firm. Then there's a Walmart Associate, which may be the most familiar use of the term to many. Physician Associate isn't intuitive to those unfamiliar with PAs because we aren't Physicians and "associating" doesn't describe what we do. It will define our profession with another profession and prevent people from seeing us as distinct medical professionals. Medical Care Practitioner is much more clear. It speaks to patients in their own words instead of asking them to learn our new definition. More PAs want to be called Physician Associates right now. That's a fair point, but PAs already know what we do, a large purpose of a professional title is to identify ourselves to those who don't know what we do. Patients, physicians, and employers associated higher level tasks such as diagnosing patients and prescribing medications with Medical Care Practitioner more than Physician Associate. Physicians were also more likely to work with and recommend a Medical Care Practitioner compared to a Physician Associate. We have to put our patients, law makers, and employers ahead of our personal preferences to have the most effective title that moves us forward as a profession. It's too expensive. It will only get more expensive. That's the nature of putting things off. Being doubted of our ability and training due to our title has large costs too! How many patients have cancelled an appointment when they heard they'd "only be seeing the Physician's Assistant"? How many patients left dissatisfied expecting to see the Physician after us? How many legislators stopped paying attention when they heard "assistant"? These lost opportunities are major financial, legal, and legislative costs that easily amount to millions of dollars, they just don't appear on a balance sheet. It's too much work to have to explain a new title. Yes, it's a lot of work, and those nearing the end of their career will see less of the payoff than those earlier in their career, but like a lot of things, long term success is dependent on some short term sacrifice. Not addressing the underlying issue with our title will continue to hold our profession back if we ignore it. We can't expect to turn the tide for better results without doing something different. Changing our title will cause waves in the medical community. Any progress for our profession will cause waves in the medical community. Physicians are not in favor of us changing our name to Physician Associates. They will fight that change and it will generate resentment among some physicians if we disregard their wishes. It's easier to just let them have "Physician" for themselves. Medical Care Practitioner is our best option that has a viable chance to be acted on in the foreseeable future to cause the least waves without allowing further decline in our proportion of new hires relative to Nurse Practitioners. Our focus should be on OTP. We can walk and chew gum at the same time. How many emails have we sent to law makers to only have them read the subject line that an assistant is asking to not be considered an assistant and never heard a response? How many law makers assume we are less capable and more dependent on physicians than Nurse Practitioners because we call ourselves "Physician's Assistants" (what most people hear)? Politicians care about the way things sound to the general public. Passing a law stating "Physician Assistants no longer need direct supervision from physicians to treat patients" will never be as well received as "Nurse Practitioners and Medical Care Practitioners no longer need direct supervision from physicians to treat patients". Why not just Medical Practitioner? MCP sounds like a finger joint. WPP has said that among the 11,000 free response suggestions they reviewed, Medical Practitioner was suggested more than any other title, but legal review indicated it would be nearly impossible to adopt a title that has been used to mean other things in the past. This is also why Advanced Practice Provider, Advanced Practitioner, and many other suggested names had to be eliminated. The addition of Care makes Medical Care Practitioner a "new" title. MCP does remind those in healthcare of a metacarpophalangeal joint. I have no counter-argument there lol, but PA means posteroanterior and Pennsylvania, so we've overcome acronyms before. Thank you for your time and consideration! I really do feel that this could have a huge positive impact for our profession in the public eye and legislatively and I hope that this encourages others to support this positive step Make sure to check out the Title Change Investigation Report and Presentation if you are an AAPA member. WPP are the experts on market research and growing brands. They did a great job looking at this from multiple angles. They didn't become the #1 advertising company in the world by leading people astray and I think we would be wise to listen to their professional guidance.

I'm watching. It is still ongoing. 2 hours of info is being provided. Long story short: Tons of research was done. They surveyed PAs, students, patients, physicians, employers (multinational, regional, rural), federal agencies, commercials insurance, and so much more. They talk about how to implement it, the challenges, the costs. When given the multiple choice definition of a PA, only a quarter of physicians, patients, and employer got it right. Only 75% of PAs and students got it right. When given the the actual definition 80% of physicians, patients, and employers agreed with it. They were charged with a branding campaign. Title change is just one component of that. They went a lot into how to brand ourselves. The title survey: PAs and student most accepted physician associate. SURPRISINGLY! Medical Care Practitioner did better with physicians, patients, and employers. The overall recommendation: Medical Care Practitioner. ETA: this is not policy. The constituent organizations need to discuss and will go forward afterwards with discussions at next HOD meeting in May.

Well said. I have been a strong advocate for physician associate. but!! this whole thing is about perception not reality. Reality is PAs rock and our name (perception) has really hurt us. To have a world wide PR company say MCP is better rec’d is all I need to know. Bring it on!!! All in for MCP!!!!

I voted for Associate but we all now have to unify and support this. Guys, we have to get rid of “assistant”. We HAVE to.

Lmaoo they ghosting all of us where the admissions committee at?

I understand you guys are nervous...we all are ...but posting your stats on here is not going to solve anything..regardless of stats, some people get in for other reasons so can we please post about if anyone received interviews?

We don't have an official position yet. We were waiting for the title investigation to complete. There wasn't much point in spending a lot of energy on the issue until we knew what the issue was. Personally I have long advocated for ANYTHING that cuts us loose from physicians in title and the minds of the public. We need a title that is ours...just ours...and not one that associates us (makes us a lesser version of) any other group. I would have supported Praxician over Physician Associate

FANTASTIC!!!! As for the letters P and A, they can finally be swept into the dustbin of our history. Gawd, I am 100% on board with MCP! Also agree, change the title of this thread please!

ACCEPTED!!!!! Literally can’t believe it! I interviewed 11/11 and thought this was my worst interview by far. Proof to not beat yourselves up after a “bad” interview. Good luck everyone!!!

Just got a call from Gina about an hour ago. I got accepted! i’m so happy!! I was on the APOS list for 1 week before I got in! Interviewed 11/09. Anyone else on the APOS list just stay positive! And to my future classmates, I can’t wait to meet you

Received an acceptance call about twenty minutes ago. This is the best feeling ever, I hope to study with you guys soon!

Also interviewing dec 17!!! So excited Would anyone on that date want to zoom meet before then? I did that with some people for a different school’s interview and it helped significantly for my nerves and confidence during the actual day. Just nice seeing some familiar faces on the big day !

Is there anyone else that has not heard anything back yet?

Hey guys - So just like last year, they've asked us not to give out information regarding the interview process to protect the integrity of their program and the way that they conduct the interviews, which I totally respect as those of us who were the first group to interview had no idea what to expect. I can say the following: it will be over zoom, just as you were notified in your invitation email. They are very proficient at zoom so if you're worried about that process, don't be. It will be fine. You will get an email a day or two before with a link and a schedule. Prepare like you would for any other interview. Hope that helps.

Farmer, butcher, and barber don't have the majority of the public not understanding their role, PAs do. Generic is better than wrong. Being assumed to be assistants has real world costs to our profession that far exceed $1 million (wouldn't surprise me if the lost income, independence, and malpractice due to being thought of as assistants was in the hundreds of millions tbh). Despite decades of trying to inform people about our profession, the majority still think we are less capable than we are because our name implies we are just Assistants to Physicians. We can argue the apostrophe s all we want, but you are fighting an uphill battle when your introduction gives the wrong first impression. The simple fact is people are stubborn and it's hard to change their minds.

The presentation was really interesting. It's amazing that the overwhelming majority (greater than 75%) of physicians, patients, and administrators could not accurately choose the definition of our profession. If that doesn't signify the importance of changing our name, I don't know what else does.. The report also showed it will be expensive and take years to accomplish. If we have identified the need for a name change and how expensive it is, then why settle for a change to physician associate? The marketing professionals suggest this is unlikely to benefit our brand any further, so why make such a huge financial commitment? The only reasonable choice we have is MCP.

Definitely on board with Medical Care Practitioner. I think we have to make a little sacrifice now for long term benefits.

I received an acceptance today! I’m so excited and grateful. I received another offer so I have a choice to make but I’m in love with USF so I think it’ll be an easy decision good luck and congrats to everyone else!!!

Still processing it (is this real?!??), but I was accepted after my interview on 11/12! I cannot believe it y'all. I can't wait to be a PA. Like others here, I did not have a lot of confidence in my interview and, preceding that, I did not have a lot of confidence in my app. I am far from the perfect applicant (shoutout to that D in O Chem which I am now officially NEVER taking again ), but this is proof dreams really do come true and we are all so much MORE than bad grades, or gaps in schooling, or bad interviews, or whatever it is that causes you to doubt yourself, etc. etc. Keep the faith and I can't wait to see who else joins the class!

I just received an interview invite from MBKU! I applied early July! Good luck to everyone!

I had my interview last Thursday, but I’ve started to overthink my responses to the questions so now I’m becoming more anxious while waiting to hear about a final decision... anyone else?!?

I just got the call at 1PM today! Interviewed on 10/15.

@leiprepa thank you , hopefully we all be accepted.

Ugh don’t wish that. The clinical you dislike the most are the ones you need the most. You will likely not learn anything in these specialist beyond school so learn it now.....

I just got an offer of acceptance email!!! Hope everyone else hears some good news today.!

12/18!

Same here!

Guys, one word of caution here: Patients can SAY their PCP said all sorts of things, and they might even be accurately reporting what they THINK the PCP said, but there's going to be some amount of patients misconstruing what another provider said. I'd encourage a phone call first, just to confirm that the provided did in fact say what the patient said he or she did.

I would document exactly that in the patient chart, " 2.5% burden of AF, patient has not started anticoagulant because PCP told him not start any medications the PA orders...only if the cardiologist orders it." Then fax over the visit note to the PCP. But maybe I'm just petty.

This is me yallll..... Been waiting to see, “Emory” in the subject line...lol

I think your mindset needs to change about this. The fact that you got an interview means you ARE what they’re looking for and you ARE capable of being a PA. I don’t know if you’ve been accepted to other programs or what your situation is, but interviewing for one of alternate lists is something that some applicants would give their all for. I’ve had friends who were placed on alternate lists and got accepted months later. As the interview season comes to an end, there will be a lot of people getting accepted to their #1 picks which will open up more seats. Try to get the idea of “I’m interviewing as an alternate” out of your head and instead think of it as you interviewing for a seat at an amazing program (which you are at the end of day). Best of luck, you got this!

synonyms people...

I just got the call. I'm in shock, I can't believe it!!

I was just pulled off the waitlist! I'm so shocked! I have been accepted to another program, so I will need to think about this decision heavily, but just letting you know that there is still hope if you're on the waitlist!

Don’t give up guys... I just got the acceptance call !!!! I’m sooo excited !!! Good luck everyone! Stay positive

To all those still waiting on a decision, the next few days will surely feel grueling and arduous as we all remain hopeful for good news. I just want to say we should all be very proud of how far we have come and that all of our efforts have not been in vein regardless of this (or next) weeks outcome. We have all, in many different ways, been of service to our communities and have been constantly improving ourselves and learning from each experience. As I type these words, I too am taking deeps breaths and reminding myself that every process teaches us different lessons - lessons that will ultimately help us as future PAs. Good luck everyone!!

No. Turned offer down! Then came an offer for family practice, I’m sole provider with excellent pay and benefits with weekends and holidays off. Yea me!