EricPA Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 Hello everyone, I had a question I have been having trouble answering myself...What do you think is the greatest issue/challenge/problem facing the PA profession either currently or in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToppDog Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 Lack of support from AAPA & AMA to counter the attacks from nursing organizations & the indifference & ignorance of government. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brookspa Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 he said a mouthfull Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alleycat Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 toppdog pretty much nailed it....but I would add....are we content to remain 'dependent practitioners' give the current state of our professions representation and status? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted September 2, 2011 Moderator Share Posted September 2, 2011 our name. we are the only "assistants" who practice medicine, write prescriptions, etc yet we are constantly confused with medical assistants who have 6 months or less of training. want this to change? add your name to the letter to the aapa requesting a name change at http://www.associatenamechange.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KhoiFish82 Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 I would add the standardization of the PA scope of practice across the United States. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dm123 Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 I would add the standardization of the PA scope of practice across the United States. Agree, very important. Along with this I would add educating graduating Residents about the role of PAs in medicine. Most Residents, even those from a medical program that also trains PAs, don't really know what PAs are about. At a recent CME event of graduating Residents from multiple disciplines, the ones I talked with had no clue about the partnership of PAs and docs. Understandable, especially since there isn't a national standard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricPA Posted September 3, 2011 Author Share Posted September 3, 2011 DM123- Could you maybe expand on this a little...Are you saying that the training methods during clinical rotations and into elective residencies for PA's should be standardized to a specific role (a practicing PA or MD). Or are you saying medical professionals as a whole are not educated enough about the PA role? Agree, very important. Along with this I would add educating graduating Residents about the role of PAs in medicine. Most Residents, even those from a medical program that also trains PAs, don't really know what PAs are about. At a recent CME event of graduating Residents from multiple disciplines, the ones I talked with had no clue about the partnership of PAs and docs. Understandable, especially since there isn't a national standard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricPA Posted September 3, 2011 Author Share Posted September 3, 2011 Khoifish-thanks for the insight, have you seen this in action, do you have any specific examples on how the scope differs greatly from state to state? Thanks again! I would add the standardization of the PA scope of practice across the United States. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricPA Posted September 3, 2011 Author Share Posted September 3, 2011 Agreed emedpa, but i think you could also go the other way...Do you think that the scale would be tilted too far the other way, where patients would then be confused with PAS and Docs rather than confusing PA's with MA's with the "assistant" name. Thanks! our name. we are the only "assistants" who practice medicine, write prescriptions, etc yet we are constantly confused with medical assistants who have 6 months or less of training.want this to change? add your name to the letter to the aapa requesting a name change at www.associatenamechange.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricPA Posted September 3, 2011 Author Share Posted September 3, 2011 agreed, lots of issues here, toppdog. thanks for the reply, do you think you could expand on this a little to a nascent-PA student? If you dont want to reply, feel free to send me a private message too. Thanks! Lack of support from AAPA & AMA to counter the attacks from nursing organizations & the indifference & ignorance of government. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KhoiFish82 Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 There are PAs in certain states that are not allowed to prescribe, order, or administer certain controlled substances. In some states, there is a limit on how much of a controlled substance a PA can prescribe. Some states require a physician physically present in the facility for a PA to practice medicine, some require a physician to be at the facility at least once a week, some don't require it at all as long as the physician signs off on everything. Some states allow the PA to pronounce death, some do not. In addition to all of this, the PA's scope of practice in medicine is also limited to what the facility and what the physician allows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dm123 Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 DM123- Could you maybe expand on this a little...Are you saying that the training methods during clinical rotations and into elective residencies for PA's should be standardized to a specific role (a practicing PA or MD). Or are you saying medical professionals as a whole are not educated enough about the PA role? No. The training of either group need not be changed. What I'm talking about is kind of like marketing PAs to future employers or supervisors. Take the fear of the unknown out of the equation. Every time I have been assigned to a supervising physician, the state board includes a letter--Quote from such letter about me-"It is acknowledged that you are responsible for the conduct of the Physician Assistant and that you understand that CONDUCT WHICH VIOLATES THE LAWS AND REGULATIONS GOVERNING PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS MAY SUBJECT YOU, AS SUPERVISION PHYSICIAN, TO SANCTIONS INCLUDING THE SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OF YOUR LICENSE TO PRACTICE MEDICINE" I put cap letters as was on the original letter. If I was a new Resident, saw such a letter not knowing the whole story, it would make me reluctant to hire or supervise a PA. Maybe at some point toward the end of a docs Residency have a mandatory noon conference or two (with top-of-the-line eats) about the differences between PAs and docs and how well they work together. That two heads are better than one and the doc's head is the biggest one:heheh:. To expect questions from the PA, especially if it is a new area to him/her. P art of a PAs training is to learn how to saw "I Don't Know" and seek help. If the PA has been in the specialty for a few years, it is considered normal practice for the resident to ask the PA for opinions as well. That PAs are not a threat to their turf. Every "new" resident that I talk to is not aware of the fact that if a PA is not under a doctors supervision, their license goes into an inactive file. The PA can't work without some type of supervision. They have worked around PAs in the hospital, and maybe have one functioning as a 4th year medical student but that is about all they know. Got to Market ourselves. Hear it first from us and not the competition, so to speak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToppDog Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 dm123 pretty much answered your question of me too with the above response. The majority of PA's I know feel that the AAPA does not do enough to promote the profession, & that a lot of what they do seems to be reactionary & defensive in response to either legislation made from people who don't understand the scope & training of PA's, or reactionary & defensive from misinformation purposefully put out by nursing organizations in order to make themselves look better by putting PA's down. Kinda like that one employee who tried to make herself look good to her boss by constantly looking for faults in other employees - I'm sure everyone can relate to that. dm123 hit it on the head. PA's need an organization that markets PA's so that people hear it from them first, & not from the competition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cecilia Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 I would love to be able to bill medicare directly (as NPs already do). As it is right now, only our employers are able to. I am not saying we should dissolve the doctor-PA team. We could still be "supervised" by the MD but independent economically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted September 3, 2011 Moderator Share Posted September 3, 2011 Agreed emedpa, but i think you could also go the other way...Do you think that the scale would be tilted too far the other way, where patients would then be confused with PAS and Docs rather than confusing PA's with MA's with the "assistant" name. Thanks! Still an improvement.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMPA Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 I had always been one to be content with our title prior to becoming a PA until recently. I find myself becoming more political in our hospital to overcome the role nursing plays in defining our non-core privileges. Not only should a name change be addressed but a practice change as well, Independent uhhh dependent?? I have come to realize that not only does our title need to be addressed but it is time for us to become more independent with the title change itself. It would be reasonable to set certain standards for this change. Somewhat gradually become independent after a certain amount of experience has been obtained/residency + experience. Afterall we are educated in the medical role model and should be treated as such. I am tired of physicians, nurses, medical assistants, technicians and so on....,generally speaking, disrespecting our profession. I do think that our title plays an important role on the outside world's perception of our profession. The first step to change is change.....www.associatenamechange.com I trully believe if NPs can practice independently so can we. I know...someone is going to say, you should have gone to medical school. But medical school does not fit everyones life and with our healthcare heading in the direction it is we will need practitioners who can and want to actually practice medicine! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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