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@corpsman89: OTP. WI has tried its best to get all parts of OTP. Still working out details. The Hospital Association has lots of power and we are in the process of getting our last discussion with them. It's been a battle. 3 years in to the legislation process and are on draft #10 which should be the final one. They didn't like collaboration.....they wanted cooperative agreement (meaning the PA WILL COOPERATE) with them and requested that our legislation be written such that we are supervised, physicians totally responsible for the care of the patient and that they must be available immediately to the PA. (They want us to codify CMS language in our legislation....ahhh...NO!) We did not bend to that request and had to hire a special health care attorney to come to our defense. Disclaimer: My personal view is that PAs should be independent and has been my view since the beginning of my career in 2004. We seem to have support from all the legislators we have been meeting with since June 2018. They all get the common sense OTP points. So, PA FORUM colleagues: Wish us well, pray for us, send us positive thoughts, and help us get to the finish line. Thanks!!!

Sigh... Yes Medical Practitioner is the best title IMHO. Yes, it describes what we do very nicely. Yes, it contrasts Nurse Practitioner very nicely while clearly displaying the differences between us and them. Yes, it is a title that gives us our OWN path. But.... Is it realistic? I honestly don't think so. While medical practitioner is a great title, many other profession use the very title to broadly define professions who provide care in the medical arena. It's a title that could ruffle many feathers, and could potentially cause confusion. Don't get me wrong. I more than welcome Medical Practitioner as our future title, and would be more than thrilled if it were implemented. I just think Physician Associate would be easier. PAs who don't like it could just continue using "PA" as their title. It caries a sense of tradition and history with it. It matches our counterparts in the UK. And it would more or less fly under the radar IMO--which may or may not be a good thing. Anyways... Medical Practitioner or Physician associate. I do honestly think--and hope--it will come down to either of these as the final decision.

AWESOME!!! GOOD LUCK, we will push and support your endeavors We don't want our livelihood depend on some EVIL-MINDED physicians that want to bully us (I say about 60% feel that way) We should be indepdendent. I agree. If physicians are on board, they should lead the team. but that should not be mandatory. Let each clinic or practice decide.

No.

An Associate Physician is what Missouri wanted to call FMGs and those who don't pass the FLEX - thus, flunked out doctors -they wanted to call them Associate Physicians and give them some sort of messed up license while they worked with a licensed MD/DO to earn some sort of right to practice. NOT ok with that plan. Getting Assistant out of our name would be great. Keeping the abbreviation PA would keep us from having to redo business cards, letterhead, licenses, diplomas, etc. Physician Associate is the best way - so far - that puts us in a better light name wise. I like Medical Practitioner - might be hard to sell. An MP is military police, and probably a thousand other things. PA goes on forever - Port Authority, Public Announcer, Patient Advocate, etc etc So, we need to do something - more than a name change, we need advocacy, support or NPs are going to run us into the ground - without the skills or effectiveness to back it up. My old crusty 2 cents

Is there any update on the Florida bill? Just curious. One state needs to break the OTP barrier and get independent practice for PAs. Then the dam will break and we can get back to the Full Practice Authority push rather than the "team care/collaboration/no we don't want independence" blather we are forced to speak to our stakeholders as we push for OTP. Our bill is soon to be submitted in WI.

I mean seriously.....What exactly is a "Physician Associate" and exactly HOW does that describe what we do? Please...since so many seem to be in favor of it, please do explain. Is it just the PA that tickles you? If that's it, then lets go for Physical assailant or Philosophical Astronaught..... You get my point....

Update: Hello everybody, the job was exactly as described. I spent a few days already and the census has been anywhere from 25-50 patients in a 24-hour period (average looks to be around 40). The pay is more so around $107,000 (this is before RVUs/taxes; and adjusted for 2 weeks "vacation"). The number quoted earlier was if I worked the absolute minimum. However I'm on the schedule a bit more as the PA shift for the entire month is split between me and one other PA. I received my healthcare benefits and already put some of my CME money to use. I have to present every case to the Physician for the first 6 weeks and will be under a close eye for the first few months. The doctors I have met were very nice and willing to talk about anything. The nurses / techs / RTs do a considerable amount of work and really just leave us with procedures and decision-making. I realize I'm very fortunate to find an ER job right out of school as many of my ER-hopeful friends had to settle with urgent care for the time being. Once again, thank you to all who have commented.

Points can be made without personal attacks, especially attacks without any substance adding to the dialogue. Action taken.

Soon or laterwe might work for DNP's and be called "PROVIDER ASSISTANT", lol. It is already happening to some PA's. They work for DNP owned clinics. Also, DNP's and physical therapists call themselves Dr. So and So to patients and they point to us and say "ASSISTANT so and so will help you with the rest." Pathetic. OUR EDUCATION IS SEEN INFERIOR BY THE PUBLIC. Even SLP is going doctorate, lol. Stop embracing the name and role of assistant or you will become a PROVIDER ASSISTANT

PA stands for a lot of other professios, and physician assistant is not the first to typically pop up, Medical Practioner may not be the choice, but shouldn’t be because of MP’s in military. What do NP’s that “assist” physicians in same jobs as PA’s call themselves? Are they not “assists”?........ Post op, patient has to see practitioner rather than doc or “assistant” rather than doc. My old aunt wants the practitioner! Physician Associate awful far close to the Associate Physician. And WHY do something to keep initials just because it easier to change business cards, name plate, etc. ? Like pulling out a thorn, it may hurt momentarily, but oh the relief when it’s finally done!!

This is not meant to be self edifying... Have a new patient - 45yr old male, hx of Hodkins lymphoma many years ago - something like 15 I am not overly familiar with this, and read uptodate on it - (I know what I don't know) Says that they are at increased risk for colon CA and should have colonoscopy early I talked to him, explained - NO ONE not his PCP or Onc doc had ever mentioned this to him, so off to colonoscopy he goes - turns out precancerous polyps seen and removed... PCP is not about knowing it all, PCP is about reading, educating, and communicating to the patient what you have learned - it is not degree specific (to Boarded Doc's had NEVER mentioned this to him.....)

My patients are always pleasantly surprised and complimentary when I tell them or show them the UpToDate or CDC or whatever research I have done on their condition. I had to look up Alpha1Antitrypsin to see the genetics and I print patient education material from UpToDate daily. I find things I haven't seen in years or names for conditions that I may have never seen. Medicine is about learning and never not learning, advancing and improving. Continual learning is a hallmark of the PA profession in my opinion. We work in so many fields and I have seen over the years that those attracted to the profession are by and large learners and seekers. Keep up the good work!!!

I dont understand the need to not "ruffle feathers". Physicians are not concerned about ruffling feathers... NP's certainly are not. I feel it is this very attitude that is resulting in us being pushed around and left behind. We need to stop worrying about offending people who dont care about offending us.

Hello pre-PA community! When I was applying for PA school, I visited this site a lot to compare myself to others via the stats page to see if I would be a "competitive applicant". It was always super demoralizing to see all of the amazing stats on this forum but it was also motivating! If you have ever felt this way, have faith in yourself and get your CASPA application in EARLY!!!! There are ways to increase your odds of getting into PA school and this is the best way to do it because you are using the rolling admissions in your favor to effectively compete against fewer applicants. I recently broke my leg and am on spring break from PA school recovering from an ORIF. I figured I would make good use of my time by making a youtube video for the community that helped me learn how to get into PA school. I hope it is helpful! Best of luck applying to PA school this application cycle and remember to submit your CASPA early!!!!!!! If the video box does not load below my post. The video on youtube is called How to get into PA SCHOOL on your FIRST APPLICATION CYCLE. My user name is Cody Vann. I will be making more videos like this to help you guys out. If you want to be updated when I make new videos be sure to hit the subscribe button along with the bell. I hope these videos are helpful!

I second medical terminology. If you start in the fall I would highly recommend getting a Scribe job that way it'll incentivize you learning the medical lingo. If not you can search up some quizlets or look for a free online class, but definitely brushing up on A&P and Medical Term would be the most helpful. Also, every PA school has its own method to the madness. Reach out to current students (1st and 2nd years) and see how they approached your future classes.

I've joked that there should be an uptodate logo in place of the university seal on my diploma.

Sounds like a good way to get not a damn thing done...

The advantage to low volume is that the docs actually have time to teach. If you're constantly just trying to keep your heads above water seeing everyone coming through the door, you'll inevitably end up seeing what you're comfortable seeing, i.e. the low acuity patients, and the docs won't have time to help you learn procedures, talk through cases, etc.

Forgive me for a just a second...…hmmm-hmmmm……"I TOLD YOU SO!" There, I got that outta my system. I feel better. I posted on this forum around 2008-9 that this was coming. The nursing body has been meticulous, patient and effective in their battle to establish themselves as independent medical providers. This has been in motion since the 1970's, really picked up steam with the DNP becoming the graduating degree for NP programs. Next step is independent practice...FL is looking at passing this as well. This will be the nationwide standard in the VERY near future. Final checkmate move for the DNP will be 100% CMS reimbursement. With that understanding and albeit late to the show, I am glad to see that my fellow PA's are waking up. The AAPA is still quite slow on the draw here but discussion of name change is a positive step. We need to encourage the DMS or DMSc doctoral pathways for PA's. We have to match the title. Sounds petty I know but this a war of public opinion as well and the "D" matters. Fortunately in FL, it was an MD who went to bat to have the PA included in the bill that was being presented to allow the NP independent practice. Point here is we need to be more politically active as a group. I hope we get mad and get moving on this issue or we may find ourselves with a DNP as our supervising provider some day!

In comparison to the majority of students being accepted to PA school, your GPA's are on the lower side. But there are people on here who get accepted with those stats. However, they usually have other parts of their application that help compensate for the lower GPA (i.e. great GRE scores, high level PCE, outstanding LOR's). So you can either take more classes to increase your GPA and retake the GRE (or apply to schools that don't require it), or you can continue working to increase your HCE/PCE hours. In my own personal opinion it sounds like you could be in a great position to apply starting in 2020, but this year could be a stretch. But you can always apply and see what happens if you are willing to spend the $$$$.

Nope just everyone in their lane of traffic. If you have X amount of training you can do Y. However while doing Y nobody has to hold your hand or look over your shoulder.

Big difference between "looking down at someone" and understanding the difference between education. PA: 4 years undergrad that includes some tough courses then 2.5 years if intense medical education. MD: 4 years of science heavy undergrad, study for and pass the MCAT, 4 years of medical school (arguably 3.5 years), then 3-7 years of residency. Understanding the differences there isnt "looking down at" someone. However wanting what someone else has (independence) without working for it (going to medical school) kinda looks like the "everyone gets a trophy" mentality.

I know what I don't know.... I may have that tattooed on my forearm. It was always the first thing I told students.

1st, this is terrible legislative strategy. 2nd, please refrain from unnecessarily referring to political figures to stir up controversy. This thread is not about the current administration.

I would suggest retaking the GRE and aiming for at least a 300 and 4W. My cGPA was the same as yours but my sGPA was slightly higher. Make sure you have a great personal statement and stellar LORs from people/employers/a PA who know you well and can attest to your ability to being a good PA. Good luck!

ok, confession time...this time it got me...frequent flyer with abd pain, negative recent huge workup with neg labs/ct, etc. Nurses moaning when they see them arrive. so and so is here again for constipation. complaint" I need you to give me something to help me poop, I have not pooped all day". minimal exam on my part. no complaint of abd pain, fever, vomiting, etc. discharged within 15 of arrival with rx for miralax. call from local hospital 6 hrs later. pt presented there with abd pain, fever, and n/v. cbc with leukocytosis. ct shows perfed appy. surgeon was pissed. fair enough. I went and saw the pt and apologized. They realized it was atypical and did not seem upset. I blew it. it happens. anchoring bias, playing the odds, and minimizing common sense....I hope to learn from this.

Also feel free to message me if you have any further questions.....

hmmm...All states that allow NP independence should jump on what is already there and have some addendum for PA's and go from there. We need to be at least at the even playing field as NPs

I did! Congrats! Let me know if you can find a class of 2022 Facebook group. @CASPAthefriendlyghost No, I had to apply for acceleration through my adviser and I was on the wait-list for a while before getting accepted.

Accepted off the pending-open seat list today!