"Just" a PA

[MadJack]

Hey everyone, I'm a fourth year medical student- if there are any of you that ever spend time on Student Doctor Network might know me as Mad Jack. I am a respiratory therapist as well, though no longer by trade, but I keep my license active as a matter of pride. But here's something I've noticed over the years. I was guilty of it as well, when I was "just" a respiratory therapist, and even now, when I'll occasionally mutter that I'm "just" a medical student.

You aren't "just" PAs. You're damn good clinicians that many hospitals and practices couldn't function without. You've got strong clinical skills and acumen that allow you to do many of the same things physicians do, and often just as well or better. Yeah, you aren't the physician, but you're also not "just" a PA, you're a physician assistant, a title you worked hard to earn and work harder still to practice. So next time you find yourself about to say it, maybe hold back and say something else. I know it's easy, and fast, and gets across what you like to say. I did it all the time as a respiratory therapist- "oh, I'm just the RT..." And now it's frequently, "oh, I'm just the medical student..." But I feel like it feeds into a subconscious narrative that you're something lesser, either to you or those around you. Every clinician should be proud of what they do, physician assistants as much as any. We all make this health care thing work (when it does, at least) and we all have a part to play.

This post was kind of prompted due to my accidentally offending a PA. She said, "I'm just a PA," to the radiologist when asking him to verify what she'd read. He and I were both like, "you're not just a PA." Her read was right, and I was like, "you're not just a PA, you know what you're doing." Which I think she took to mean other PAs don't, but she does. But that's not what I meant at all- "you're not just a PA, you're a skilled clinician that knows what you are doing- you are a physician assistant, and a good one at that" would have been the more wordy but accurate thing to say. Yeah, she isn't a radiologist, but maybe she could've said, "I just wanted an expert read on this" and brought him up rather than shooting herself down, I don't know. With other providers it isn't a big deal, but with patients, I feel like saying "my initial impression is X, and we should have a final read from radiology soon" rather than "I'm just the PA, and I think X, but let's see what the radiologist says" comes across better. Anyway, that's it from me. Keep being awesome you guys.

[Hckyplyr]

To add to this, I feel like a lot of PA's (myself included) introduce themselves as "Hi I'm hckyplyr, I'm one of the PA's working today." I feel like this makes it sound like your a dime a dozen, just one of the random people working that day. I've never heard a physican (though I'm sure its happened) say "Hi, I'm Dr. X, one of the physicians working today." I'm not sure why I did it, or why others continue to do it, but there must be something better we can say.

[DiggySRNA]

25 minutes ago, Hckyplyr said:

To add to this, I feel like a lot of PA's (myself included) introduce themselves as "Hi I'm hckyplyr, I'm one of the PA's working today." I feel like this makes it sound like your a dime a dozen, just one of the random people working that day. I've never heard a physican (though I'm sure its happened) say "Hi, I'm Dr. X, one of the physicians working today." I'm not sure why I did it, or why others continue to do it, but there must be something better we can say.

All of the PAs that I work alongside with introduce themselves as " Hi, I'm John Doe, the PA" or " Hello, I'm Jane Doe, one of the providers". 

[UGoLong]

I often say that I'm "a PA on the heart team."

 

 

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[JMPAC]

I had a patient's husband say "oh, so you're just a PA?" to me last week after I introduced myself as a physician assistant. I said that wasn't how I would phrase it, but yeah I'm a PA. Then I diagnosed and treated his wife with the professionalism, empathy and thoroughness you can expect from "just" a PA. #represent 

[Zach]

What an awesome post. Thank you for going out of your way to come over here and post that!

[Acebecker]

Mad Jack,

It takes guts to admit you could have done something better than you did it.  Well done.

And I agree.

 

Andrew

[sas5814]

madJack it warms the cockles of my heart to read a post like yours. It seems we spend all our days fighting against people who just don't understand the profession and/or are more interested in their own power and control than healthcare. Thanks for the post!

[DizzyJ]

19 hours ago, Hckyplyr said:

To add to this, I feel like a lot of PA's (myself included) introduce themselves as "Hi I'm hckyplyr, I'm one of the PA's working today." I feel like this makes it sound like your a dime a dozen, just one of the random people working that day. I've never heard a physican (though I'm sure its happened) say "Hi, I'm Dr. X, one of the physicians working today." I'm not sure why I did it, or why others continue to do it, but there must be something better we can say.

This!  I feel the same way when I hear someone saying "I'm on of the PAs".  Like are we just letting the patient know there are more PAs working today and I'm not the only one? 

[PACShrink]

Ditto!!

 At previous practice I was working I overheard a receptionist telling a patient "The doctor is 2 hours behind but, if you don't mind seeing a PA, I can get you in sooner'. I might have spent the next 5 minutes more productively by punching myself in the face but, I tried to explain to the receptionist why she should not make statements like that. I don't think she got the message.... SMH !!

[HemeOncPA19]

On 8/13/2017 at 6:29 PM, JMPAC said:

I had a patient's husband say "oh, so you're just a PA?" to me last week after I introduced myself as a physician assistant. I said that wasn't how I would phrase it, but yeah I'm a PA. Then I diagnosed and treated his wife with the professionalism, empathy and thoroughness you can expect from "just" a PA. #represent 

Well done. I am currently in the dog house with my wife over these sorts of things. I am a PA student and my wife refuses to see a PA for her OBGYN checkup because she wants someone 'who specialized' in the field because they 'know more' and went to school longer. Needless to say, I am wrong because I am 'just a PA student' and she is going to wait to see a Dr. Oh well! 

[Dono]

Well done. I am currently in the dog house with my wife over these sorts of things. I am a PA student and my wife refuses to see a PA for her OBGYN checkup because she wants someone 'who specialized' in the field because they 'know more' and went to school longer. Needless to say, I am wrong because I am 'just a PA student' and she is going to wait to see a Dr. Oh well! 

Repeat after me: "Happy wife, happy life".


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[JMPAC]

Well done. I am currently in the dog house with my wife over these sorts of things. I am a PA student and my wife refuses to see a PA for her OBGYN checkup because she wants someone 'who specialized' in the field because they 'know more' and went to school longer. Needless to say, I am wrong because I am 'just a PA student' and she is going to wait to see a Dr. Oh well! 

Ha, well get used to family members not listening to you. Hopefully, she changes her mind about PAs, but even if she does, she'll probably never really listen to "just" her husband about GYN stuff. Lol



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[MCHAD]

On 8/27/2017 at 0:20 PM, SOCM02-09 said:

Well done. I am currently in the dog house with my wife over these sorts of things. I am a PA student and my wife refuses to see a PA for her OBGYN checkup because she wants someone 'who specialized' in the field because they 'know more' and went to school longer. Needless to say, I am wrong because I am 'just a PA student' and she is going to wait to see a Dr. Oh well! 

My mother in law thinks I do the same thing as a medical assistant...I gave up trying to educate her 

[camoman1234]

17 minutes ago, MCHAD said:

My mother in law thinks I do the same thing as a medical assistant...I gave up trying to educate her 

Tell her how much you are making and she might listen or if not then she will just got back to MA school herself and that more $$$ than she is making now. :)

[rev ronin]

On 8/27/2017 at 11:20 AM, SOCM02-09 said:

Well done. I am currently in the dog house with my wife over these sorts of things. I am a PA student and my wife refuses to see a PA for her OBGYN checkup because she wants someone 'who specialized' in the field because they 'know more' and went to school longer. Needless to say, I am wrong because I am 'just a PA student' and she is going to wait to see a Dr. Oh well! 

You need to fix that, or start preparing for the divorce now.  I recommend the former, but I cannot see any marriage with that level of disdain for a spouse's profession lasting.

[BruceBanner]

On 8/27/2017 at 2:20 PM, SOCM02-09 said:

Well done. I am currently in the dog house with my wife over these sorts of things. I am a PA student and my wife refuses to see a PA for her OBGYN checkup because she wants someone 'who specialized' in the field because they 'know more' and went to school longer. Needless to say, I am wrong because I am 'just a PA student' and she is going to wait to see a Dr. Oh well! 

I mean this constructively, but odd that you are in the 'dog house' for your wife not respecting your profession.

Imagine if the tables were turned and she was a PA student, and you refused to see a PA because they weren't specialized. Something tells me you'd be in the doghouse then too...

[Lola33]

Mad Jack- 

Thank you so much for your humbling opinion and complementation of the PA profession.  Yes I know we didn't go to school as long as physicians, and I respect all of the education and expertise the physician has.  But we worked our ass off going to school for three years masters in medicine (often from 8-5PM everyday and then studying all evening and night, summers jammed packed with classes) and deserve some additional recognition and respect from other health care professionals and patients (sometimes we get this and sometimes not).  So I just want to say thank you.  The physician I look up to the most is a family physician I knew since I was a freshman in college, played in the orchestra with him and he treated my grandma.  Years later I came to work with him at the family practice clinic he owned.  He is one of the most caring, smart physicians I know.  One thing I will always respect about him is his humility and humbling nature, always thinking of the patients best interested (not about how much money he can make), and always treated me with the upmost respect.  He even asked and respected opinions I had in areas of medicine I saw more, such as gynecology.   He worked so well with the other members of the medical team and always respected the work each of them did.  I feel like you may be a lot like him! And the patients loved him too, of course.  

 

 

[PACShrink]

When I was in school, someone showed this video. https://youtu.be/asgVIVV8H6U

It was a wise professor who suggested we have a prepared answer for the question 'What is a PA? ' and when a patient say that they want to see the Doctor.

 I think that has happened to me on 2 or 3 occasions. I don't get offended, I just politely try to explain what I do and tell them that if they are not happy after my exam I will happily walk them to the appointment desk so they can make arrangements to see a MD.

 

[spa-c]

Thanks for saying this! I have never introduced myself in this way but I have heard colleagues do it and it makes me cringe. The way you introduce yourself matters!