Guest Paula Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 I recently started a new job. Went through all the credentialing for medical staff. Got my letter and it said "congratulations for being appointed to the Allied Health Staff/Provisional." Apparently PAs (and NPs) in my system are called Allied Health. Are we? Federal register has reference to PAs as such, but RNs and NPs are not listed. We are listed with MA, PTA, Ophthalmic assistants, dietitians, dietetic technicians, animal care technicians, and others. I found another reference that said Allied Health is describe as health practitioners (other than nurses and physician assistants), or those who have a MD, DO, OD, Phd, DPM, or a doctorate degree in a health profession. I'm confused. I do not consider myself Allied Health. Is this a big deal or not? Is this just another example of the severe identity confusion that has infected our country regarding PAs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted March 19, 2015 Moderator Share Posted March 19, 2015 it's better than my current designation "dependent health care staff". (NPs, PsyDs, CNM, CRNA, etc are independent health care staff) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whoRyou Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 it's better than my current designation "dependent health care staff". (NPs, PsyDs, CNM, CRNA, etc are independent health care staff) Never heard of this. Is this some new 'title', has it been around for awhile? Do you believe this is the beginning of this type of "title"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted March 19, 2015 Moderator Share Posted March 19, 2015 Never heard of this. Is this some new 'title', has it been around for awhile? Do you believe this is the beginning of this type of "title"? it's not a title, it's a category... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LESH Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Never heard of this. Is this some new 'title', has it been around for awhile? Do you believe this is the beginning of this type of "title"? Nevermind, I misunderstood what you were saying.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWR Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Joined by treaty, agreement or common cause. That is the definition of "allied". The last example, "common cause" seems reasonable to me. I certainly like it better than "midlevel" grrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andersenpa Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 No you are not an AHP From US Code: TITLE 42--THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARECHAPTER 6A--PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICESUBCHAPTER V--HEALTH PROFESSIONS EDUCATIONPart F--General Provisions Sec. 295p. Definitions•(5) The term ``allied health professionals'' means a health professional (other than a registered nurse or physician assistant)—[Emphasis added] (A) who has received a certificate, an associate's degree, a bachelor's degree, a master's degree, a doctoral degree, or post-baccalaureate training, in a science relating to health care; (B) who shares in the responsibility for the delivery of health care services or related services, including— (i) services relating to the identification, evaluation, and prevention of disease and disorders; (ii) dietary and nutrition services; (iii) health promotion services; (iv) rehabilitation services; or (v) health systems management services; and © who has not received a degree of doctor of medicine, a degree of doctor of osteopathy, a degree of doctor of dentistry or an equivalent degree, a degree of doctor of veterinary medicine or an equivalent degree, a degree of doctor of optometry or an equivalent degree, a degree of doctor of podiatric medicine or an equivalent degree, a degree of bachelor of science in pharmacy or an equivalent degree, a degree of doctor of pharmacy or an equivalent degree, a graduate degree in public health or an equivalent degree, a degree of doctor of chiropractic or an equivalent degree, a graduate degree in health administration or an equivalent degree, a doctoral degree in clinical psychology or an equivalent degree, or a degree in social work or an equivalent degree or a degree in counseling or an equivalent degree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andersenpa Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Show this to your medical staff office and request that they change it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whoRyou Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 it's not a title, it's a category... That's what I meant, 'category'. A "dependent health care staff" I never heard of this before. Of course I have heard of Allied Health Professionals before. Looking for HCE I see this all the time - Allied Health Professionals and under that I see PAs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LESH Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 That's what I meant, 'category'. A "dependent health care staff" I never heard of this before. Of course I have heard of Allied Health Professionals before. Looking for HCE I see this all the time - Allied Health Professionals and under that I see PAs Sorry, I misunderstood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted March 19, 2015 Moderator Share Posted March 19, 2015 That's what I meant, 'category'. A "dependent health care staff" I never heard of this before. Of course I have heard of Allied Health Professionals before. Looking for HCE I see this all the time - Allied Health Professionals and under that I see PAs it's been around for a while...and as a title needs to go away. I much prefer something like "non-physician medical staff" or "associate/affiliated clinicians". . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paula Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 Thanks Andersen, I will bring it in. Will I mark myself as a rebel? Here's what happened today when my schedule was blocked off for an hour of orientation for new provider coaching in excellence (whatever that is). I couldn't find the meeting. I went to the medical staffing office and talked to the lady who has been involved in my orientation and promotion/marketing. As I walked into her room to find out where I was to be, I glanced down at a side table. On it was a name badge of a PA who is providing locum services for a few weeks in the ER. Guess what it said under her name........I betcha 'll never guess....nope .......try again........no........ one more try......... It said Physician's assistant. I blurt out ( and I really blurted it out without thinking)...whoever made the name badge needs to know how to spell physician assistant, there is no 's behind physician. We are not the possession of a physician. We are not their assistants. That needs to be corrected. She looked at me and said "I'm the one that did that." Yeeow. So I gave her a quick history lesson on how PAs are not assistants, title confusion among patients and staff, blah, blah, blah. She is the one who I sent the AAPA lexicon to so it could be used to correctly market PAs, and she is the one who I asked to correct all the physician assistant references when my marketing piece came out, which she did do. She has been in her position for 20 years or more. Banging my head against the wall. Then tonight at water aerobics one of my classmates, an NP and I were talking about our respective employers. She works in urology. She told me one of her fellow colleagues, a PA could not work for a couple of days because her SP was sick, and at one time PAs couldn't work because the physician had to be present. And that they all needed chart co-sig. So I informed her of our state laws: no co-sig now for about 7 years, no physician has ever had to be present at all times, and PAs can and do work at clinics alone w/o a physician present. She looked shocked. Then she said.......NPs in this system have a lot of say and it seems the PAs don't. Guys: this is the system in WI that had the very first PA program in the state before it moved to UW-Madison. What's wrong with this picture? Her system has become very NP friendly and advertise for almost 2x more jobs for NPs than PAs. I have a concussion right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbrothers98 Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 There are places that get it and make an effort to change. At my place we have gone from allied health and courtesy medical staff to just plain full medical staff with equal voting rights and can hold office and sit on committees. Name tags and proper signage came about because we would just turn them back in or take them down and state it was wrong and since it was used to identify us to the public, it had to be correct. The nearby medical center whom we have an affiliation with puts out a newsletter and persists in identify PAs and NPs as midlevel providers. I sent her the official AAPA statement concerning the change to just PA. It is a fight that will be won by persistence and perseverance in addition to showing up everyday and doing the job. G Brothers PA-C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayakr Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 There is confusion on job postings as well. Sometimes, PAs are under clinicians, other times they are under allied health. I've even seen PA jobs listed under the nursing category. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paula Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 I'm starting a PA Practice Council at my clinic. I have 3 other PAs interested. We will get more. First meeting not yet set up but tentatively plan for late April or in May. Will keep y'all posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LKPAC Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 Are there any JCAHO rules about listing PAs as medical staff? In order to affect change it will be nice to know these guidelines and cite precedence at other hospitals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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