Beorp Posted July 7, 2011 I asked this question in another thread when it came up recently but didn't want to hijack that and did some more searching. It has been said on this forum that the initial title of the PA profession, specifically in Duke's program, was physician associate. This is also used on the PA name change site as the first stated reason for why a name change is warranted (see: http://www.panamechange.org/). I ended up coming across this letter from the early 1970s on the PA history site that seems to indicate that two Duke's program was "assistant" before it was "associate" and that when it was changed the title was "physician's associate" initially (see a letter here: http://www.pahx.org/pdf/Item258.pdf). I am just poking around online so I would appreciate comments from those of you who are more in tune with the history from direct experience. My intent is not to start a flame war, but it just seems important that the arguments used to push a name change are valid so I hope someone will humor me and my curiosity.
winterallsummer Posted July 7, 2011 Yale also has the title associate. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yale_Physician_Associate_Program
Beorp Posted July 9, 2011 Author Thanks for your replies, but I am not asking about the current program titles used. What I am wondering about is the original title of the profession.
winterallsummer Posted July 9, 2011 1962 Dr. Henry McIntosh, cardiologist at Duke University, trains local fireman in emergency procedures for the community; in exchange, off-duty firemen staff the cardiac catheterization laboratory; former Navy hospital corpsmen are hired for similar roles and are classified as physician's assistants by Duke's payroll department. 1965 Academic Committee chaired by Dr. Andrew Wallace approves Dr. Stead's proposed PA curriculum and the National Heart Institute funds Dr. Herbert Saltsman's grant to train hyperbaric chamber operators and physician's assistant. This clears the way for the first four physician assistant (PA) students, all ex-Navy hospital corpsmen, to begin training at the Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC. source: http://www.pahx.org/period02.html
GeneValgene Posted July 10, 2011 looks like it was physician's assistant early on (with the apostrophe)....seems like the apostrophe dropped somewhere along the way
Beorp Posted July 10, 2011 Author If the original name was physician's assistant then it seems as though the PANameChange.org site should be updated to remove the claim that, "Our profession’s original name was physician associate." It seems advantageous be sure that all points used to support a name change are accurate so that they cannot be picked apart by someone who opposes the change.
Contrarian Posted July 10, 2011 ... your last post... NOPE...!!! If you do some more research ... you will find out why the claim, "Our profession’s original name was physician associate" exists...
Beorp Posted July 10, 2011 Author NOPE...!!! If you do some more research ... you will find out why the claim, "Our profession’s original name was physician associate" exists... Might you be able to point me in the right direction?
Contrarian Posted July 10, 2011 Nahh... YOU are the one that seems to be interested in ensuring what WE call ourselves is 'valid'... so YOU should do the research.
GeneValgene Posted July 10, 2011 anyone have an electronic copy or a link to Dr. Stead's guest editorial: "What's in a name" that was published in the first issue of AAPA's Physician's Associate journal? i would be extremely curious to read it! TOC here: http://www.pahx.org/pdf/PAmag.pdf
Beorp Posted July 10, 2011 Author I've been doing more searching but this is all that I have come across today. If anyone is familiar with the history and is willing to share, I would love to hear from you. From a publication in 1973: "In 1965, under the direction of Dr. Eugene A. Stead, Jr., Duke University initiated the first formal physician's assistant program, now called the Physician's Associate Program, and to date sixty-eight P.A.s have been graduated. The graduates of the first few classes have been studied, but these studies have been primarily oriented toward the social and psychological aspects of the P.A. role." Source: http://ajph.aphapublications.org/cgi/reprint/63/12/1024.pdf
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