PA name change?

[HLReed]

It seems to me that it is a state matter considering Yale is currently graduating Physician Associates, not Physician Assistants...I could be totally wrong though.

 

 

I should have been more clear: why does it matter what the program calls the degree in relation to what this individuals calls him/herself?  I think it would make sense for us to make a move to Physician Associate (or another more accurate title), but until we do, we will be Physician Assistant-Certified or Physician Assistant-Student.  The point is, it's a misrepresentation to call oneself a Physician Associate.  You could say "I'm going to be receiving my Masters of Physician Associate Studies degree", but you can't say that you'll be a Physician Associate, because that's not a profession.  It might describe the profession, but it's not a professional title.

 

The Yale reference is often used incorrectly over and over again.

 

The Yale PA Program was originally called "Associate" and stayed that way because, in part, Yale as a university is obsessed with tradition.

 

The degree does not have the word "Associate" in it anywhere. It is a Master's of Medical Science awarded by the Yale School of Medicine.

 

PAs in Connecticut are legally referred to as physician assistants, even for those of us that graduated from a Physician Associate Program.

 

What PA's are called in the workplace is a matter of state law and bucking that can lead to a revoked license and a short career. 

 

Be careful.

[blueridge]

HLReed, fully agree with the workplace identification as physician assistant, but in most other situations - physician assistant, also known as physician associate - seems benign though progressive toward the title change.  I perceive that the University of Oklahoma, the state's flagship university, being located in the same city in which its lawmakers will reside much of the year will take note of the name of the program and, again, in time, be willing to set legislative terms accordingly.  (Other programs in the state will probably follow as well, then neighboring states, etc.)  This is where a bit of publicity of sorts and plenty of shaking hands with lawmakers on the part of those involved with this physician associate program could be quite productive for the profession.  

[Z PA-C]

I didn't realize that the UK decided to switch from Physician Assistant to Physician Associate in 2012.

 

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physician_assistant

 

I still prefer APC: Advanced Practice Clinician

 

Maybe one day...

[cinntsp]

I didn't realize that the UK decided to switch from Physician Assistant to Physician Associate in 2012.

 

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physician_assistant

 

I still prefer APC: Advanced Practice Clinician

 

Maybe one day...

 

I also prefer APC but the problem is that it's being used as an umbrella term to replace 'midlevel,' so the NPs are already considered APCs as well.

[marktheshark89]

FWIW at Yale, graduates of the physician associate program who work at YNHH afterwards have physician associate as their listed title. Many of the jobs descriptions also list as physician associate. Just as an example: http://careers.ynhh.org/job-search/detail.aspx?id=322933

[blueridge]

New Zealand has also made the change to physician associate:

 

http://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/health-workforce/new-roles-and-initiatives/current-demonstrations/physician-associate-physician-assistant

[ICRob0351]

Wait, PA doesn't stand for Party Animal?

 

Where's my academic advisor...

Ummmm...Yeah dude. Of course. What else could it stand for? Physician Assistant?? Haha...that wouldn't make sense.

[whoRyou]

Wait, PA doesn't stand for Party Animal?

 

Where's my academic advisor...

                                                           There he goes ...

                                                Or perhaps you could find him here ...

[andersenpa]

Here's some history:

 

Associate Name History

 

The terms assistant and associate had been used when the first programs were being developed. It has been noted that the AMA was one of the first, if not the first, to use the term “assistant”.

 

Early PA programs had significant variability in length, faculty credentials, type of facility housing the program, training modalities, and demographic of students admitted. In 1970, the National Academy of Sciences created a ranking system for PAs (A, B, and C) ranked ”according to their degree of specialization, level of clinical decision-making (judgment) and length of training”. Later that year, leaders of three PA programs- U Texas, Wake Forest (then Bowman Gray), and Duke, founded the first Registry – the American Registry of Physician Associates (somewhat of a hybrid of the AAPA, NCCPA, and PAEA).

 

The purpose of the Registry was to encourage training and to promote and regulate the activities of Physicians' Associates by determining their competence through examinations and investigative studies. It would grant and issue certificates to graduates of approved educational and training programs and to others who demonstrated by examination that they possessed the background and experience to perform satisfactorily as graduates of approved programs. Duke University and several other programs had changed their name from “assistant” to “associate” to distinguish their programs from the Type B and C programs and the term associate became embedded into the newly incorporated organization’s name.

 

The registry chose the term associate due to its greater applicability to what PAs do, as well as the fact that the term “assistant” was “totally generic”. It was after the programs formally adopted the term “associate” that the AMA took a stance. It should be noted that this was well after multiple attempts over the years to get the AMA in at the ground level in defining and regulating the PA profession (according to records the requests “fell on deaf ears”).

 

In 1972 the Association of Physician Assistant Programs was formed as an “umbrella organization” over the Registry. In 1973 the Registry was placed under the American Academy of Physician Associates.

 

The AAPA is the result of a merger of 4 separate organizations who were vying to be the national representative body for PAs. The original organization which became the AAPA as we know it today was the American Academy of Physician’s Associates. Now, recall how the AMA was an early proponent of “assistant”? Part of the equation which led to the American Academy of Physician’s Associates becoming the representative organization was its alliance with the AMA, which also included a focus on accepting PAs with a primary care focus (MEDEX was named specifically). One must wonder if the AMA affiliation prompted the change in the organization’s name.

 

So when we talk about what our original title is, we can ask- are we are talking about the origins of our profession as an organized and accredited body.

 

The formative years for our profession were a stew of ideas and terms, from which several more definitive terms arose. The key concept is that the core of individuals, organizations and programs which founded the profession dealt with the same identity issues we face now.  As PA programs, assistant programs, of dubious quality and credentials were cropping up, they quickly realized that a term was needed to define our true role. It is interesting to note that many of those early proponents of “Associate” were the physicians who led the way for future PAs.

[Guest Paula]

^^^^^^ This is what we should be using to inform students of the associate name history.  It is so obvious that the Associate term was correct and the physicians who supported it were forward thinking. 

[andersenpa]

Paula- I wrote this up a year or two ago. Much of the source documents are (were?) on the PAHx website. It's been a while since I looked at it so I hope it's still accurate. Hopefully any other PAs who are more in depth on the history than I am can verify or refute it.

-Matt

[Guest Paula]

^^^^ I believe what you have written is correct and found it on the PAHx site.   Buried deeply.  This similar history was published in PA Professional a couple of years ago but  seems to me a starting point for educating legislators.  Surely they could understand the level of training a PA program offers and why assistant is the wrong title.

[Guest Paula]

P.S.  What I really love on the PAHx site is the covers of the Journal of Physician's Associates and the patches worn by PAs that said Registered Physician's Associate.