The Benefits of Changing our Title -- The Time is NOW!

[LadyNichiavelli]

On 4/1/2018 at 1:36 AM, PACali said:

I really don't think the average people will associate Medical Practitioner with 500hrs of training. I really don't.   

To me,  MP brings us closer to MD. (Which AMA will have problem with this). Because they know we are doing something right. 

By the way, who really introduce themselves with only initials? (besides the PA profession) "Hi I'm your doctor/physician." " I'm your nurse" "I'm the pharmacist in charge" "I am your audiologist" " I am your physical therapist" " I am your dental Hygienist" "Hi I am your Optometrist." 

I just can't imagine someone would introduce himself to my grandmom " Hi, I'm your DH, PharmD, audD, DPT, DOT, DO" 

Can you imagine your optometrist introduced himself as " Hi I am OD Larry"?

I think initial is for writing professional documents or name tags. I think MP looks good, similar to MD. 

Medical Practitioner let the patient know in less than 1 second that they are qualified to practice medicine.  Remember the last time your patient asked you if you are a doctor? They are not being rude. All they want to know is ARE You qualified to practice medicine? ARE you qualified to treat me?  To the average people, Doctors and physicians are qualified. But so is Medical practitioner.. because it is in the name.

Not gonna lie, I was mostly pro "Physician Associate," but this is a very convincing argument.

[Cideous]

3 hours ago, LadyNichiavelli said:

Not gonna lie, I was mostly pro "Physician Associate," but this is a very convincing argument.

 

I have been advocating for the MP Medical Practitioner name change for over 20 years, but those people married to the letters P and A have continued to destroy any chance we have had at a real change.  Even if it means destroying the very field that feeds them and their families.  Physician Assistant is a terrible name.  Physician Associate is even worse.  Let those two letters die, and embrace what we really are....Not Physicians, Not Assistants and NOT Associates.  We are Practitioners of Medicine.  MP's.

[pafrankc]

On ‎1‎/‎21‎/‎2018 at 0:42 AM, PACali said:

100% agree with this post. Physician Associate is just as confusing to the general public. We might as well not change it if we going to do that. I can see most of the people on this thread like the name " Medical Practitioner" I hope PAFT is aware of that. 

As of now, according to AAPA we are just "PA." I think that is a great start, by recognizing we are not just an assistant. But this is not a long-term strategy for the profession.   

According to AAPA website 

A PA is a nationally certified and state-licensed medical professional.

PAs practice medicine on healthcare teams with physicians and other providers.

This sounds like Medical Practitioner.

 

 

 

PAFT has never called for any specific title change.  In fact, in 2013 (http://pasfortomorrow.org/page-1821225), under the direction of the then PAFT president, Dave Mittman, we called for the removal of "assistant" from our title.  We currently support the Wisconsin and Ohio resolutions to establish a task for reviewing the effects of a title change and possibility of a new title.

When this was discussed by the PAFT board in 2013, we all agreed that "assistant" must go.  Not everyone agreed that simply changing to "PA" was the answer, as several indicated that "PA" must stand for something.

State and Federal laws address us using the legal term "physician assistant."  AAPA is a policy making, not legislative body.

I agree that assistant must go.  But to change to what?

A PA is a nationally certified and state-licensed medical professional.  (Not all PAs are nationally certified and many in the military are not state-licensed)

PAs practice medicine on healthcare teams with physicians and other providers

--Sounds like medical practitioner, but also sounds like physician associate, or medical care practitioner, or some medical word that hasn't been invented yet.

 

 

 

 

[PACali]

7 hours ago, LadyNichiavelli said:

Not gonna lie, I was mostly pro "Physician Associate," but this is a very convincing argument.

I used to support Physician Associate back in 2010 when 100 PA leader proposed a name change to Physician Associate. It has been 8 years already, nothing happened.

I realized the problem is not just “assistant”

Imagine...

You: Hi, my name is PACali, I am the Physician Associate, how can I help you?  

Patient: Oh Hi, here are my problems…

After 10 mins, you finished your assessment, discussed the plan, ready to discharge.  

Patients: So, you are the physician’s associate, where is the physician?

We are back to square one. This patient is not being rude, he/she just confused.

 

[PACali]

4 hours ago, Cideous said:

 

I have been advocating for the MP Medical Practitioner name change for over 20 years, but those people married to the letters P and A have continued to destroy any chance we have had at a real change.  Even if it means destroying the very field that feeds them and their families.  Physician Assistant is a terrible name.  Physician Associate is even worse.  Let those two letters die, and embrace what we really are....Not Physicians, Not Assistants and NOT Associates.  We are Practitioners of Medicine.  MP's.

We have to realize title change is not going to be easy. We have to be ready that AMA ganna opposed a name change unless we change back to physician's assistant. 

AMA already opposed Physician Associate in 70s or 80s, what makes people think they support us to go back to Associate? 

As long as we don't have doctor or physician in our professional title, I think AMA needs to leave us alone.

They already have enough titles:  Doctor, Medical Doctor, Physician, Doctor of Osteopathic. 

Leave Medical Practitioner to us. 

 

[corpsman89]

1 hour ago, PACali said:

I used to support Physician Associate back in 2010 when 100 PA leader proposed a name change to Physician Associate. It has been 8 years already, nothing happened.

I realized the problem is not just “assistant”

Imagine...

You: Hi, my name is PACali, I am the Physician Associate, how can I help you?  

Patient: Oh Hi, here are my problems…

After 10 mins, you finished your assessment, discussed the plan, ready to discharge.  

Patients: So, you are the physician’s associate, where is the physician?

We are back to square one. This patient is not being rude, he/she just confused.

 

This is a legitimate point. 

Even with Physician Associate you can still throw that dreadful     's     in there and once again we are the Physicians utility; their tool; their lower level scut monkey. 

You cant write Medical's practitioner can you!?

[quietmedic]

Speaking of the AAPA ... 

what is the popular opinion on the AAPA and what it does for us? For my part, all I would ever need them for, besides PR and advocacy (which I sense from this thread isn't really happening), would be to try to lower the DEA costs for PAs, and for the salary report (which is, in my opinion, far too expensive at $200 a pop, and from what I hear, not super-accurate).  Has anyone here had direct experience/contact with the AAPA and can vouch that they are at least semi-useful to us at the moment, and if so, how? (i.e, convince me to join!)

 

[TrekkieByDay]

On 3/30/2018 at 2:04 PM, EMEDPA said:

do you want someone to think you did an online np program with 500 hrs of clinicals that you arranged with your cousin morty? that's why it is a bad thing. I'm proud of the 54 weeks/3000 hrs of clinical I did in all the major fields and don't want to be confused for someone with a less rigorous educational process. it's the same argument for why I don't want to be confused with a medical assistant.

I'm MUCH happier with being mistaken for a Nurse Practitioner than I am with being mistaken for a Medical Assistant. 

What another poster said about the Office Of Personnel Management is correct--the "assistant" in the title means that the job listings themselves are often mis-labeled as Medical Assistants. Forget starting at GS12; we might get stuck at a GS7 and have to explain why our job is more than weight, vitals, and shots. 

[wdtpac]

On 4/4/2018 at 7:31 PM, quietmedic said:

Speaking of the AAPA ... 

what is the popular opinion on the AAPA and what it does for us? For my part, all I would ever need them for, besides PR and advocacy (which I sense from this thread isn't really happening), would be to try to lower the DEA costs for PAs, and for the salary report (which is, in my opinion, far too expensive at $200 a pop, and from what I hear, not super-accurate).  Has anyone here had direct experience/contact with the AAPA and can vouch that they are at least semi-useful to us at the moment, and if so, how? (i.e, convince me to join!)

 

AAPA is the vanguard with federal legislative change for the PA profession.  The only way you will have positive change is to be a member and vote in PA leaders that would best represent you.  The problem the PA profession has had for the last 10+ years is that the elected officials as a whole consist of an old guard the really does not want change (or if they were for change, they have had poor council that advised them against), in particular name change.  Don't get me wrong, I applaud all of those that have devoted their time to serve, as it is often a thankless job, I merely disagree with many of their opinions as to how to lead the profession. 

Name change, OTP (FPA or whatever), payment parity, PA practice ownership, etc has been forced upon them through the efforts of forward thinkers like Dave Mittman, Beth Smolko, James Cannon, PAFT to bring about change and to realize that we must do something to stay on par with NPs.  In my opinion, this year's AAPA election is the most important IF we want to use the momentum created by PAFT and like minded individuals.  If you want change, if you want parity with nurse practitioners, if you want to be represented nationally by leaders who feel the same as you, join today and cast your vote!!!!  Tell your local colleagues that are or are not members to do the same.  We need you!!!!

[ProSpectre]

3 hours ago, wdtpac said:

AAPA is the vanguard with federal legislative change for the PA profession.  The only way you will have positive change is to be a member and vote in PA leaders that would best represent you.  The problem the PA profession has had for the last 10+ years is that the elected officials as a whole consist of an old guard the really does not want change (or if they were for change, they have had poor council that advised them against), in particular name change.  Don't get me wrong, I applaud all of those that have devoted their time to serve, as it is often a thankless job, I merely disagree with many of their opinions as to how to lead the profession. 

Name change, OTP (FPA or whatever), payment parity, PA practice ownership, etc has been forced upon them through the efforts of forward thinkers like Dave Mittman, Beth Smolko, James Cannon, PAFT to bring about change and to realize that we must do something to stay on par with NPs.  In my opinion, this year's AAPA election is the most important IF we want to use the momentum created by PAFT and like minded individuals.  If you want change, if you want parity with nurse practitioners, if you want to be represented nationally by leaders who feel the same as you, join today and cast your vote!!!!  Tell your local colleagues that are or are not members to do the same.  We need you!!!!

 

I agree with all of your points here, but unless I'm mistaken, the deadline to join as a Fellow member to be able to vote in this election was back on March 22nd. So it's up to current Fellow members to make sure they vote, and to advocate that their peers get out and vote as well, hopefully for leaders you mentioned like Dave Mittman, Beth Smolko, James Cannon, and Jennifer Orozco.  

 

I would still encourage any PAs that aren't current members to join for all of the reasons listed above though, and to donate to the PA-PAC. Being active in our professional organizations and putting our money where our mouth is are the only ways the legislative changes that are so often talked about on this forum will be made a reality. 

[SoCal_PA]

The more I think about it, the more I'm against physician associate. I 100% want a title change, but I think this is our only shot and we need to shoot for the stars. Our profession is going towards independence and this new title should reflect that. What should the new title be? Good question

[corpsman89]

36 minutes ago, SoCal_PA said:

The more I think about it, the more I'm against physician associate. I 100% want a title change, but I think this is our only shot and we need to shoot for the stars. Our profession is going towards independence and this new title should reflect that. What should the new title be? Good question

Not sure if you have read much of the thread, but Medical Practitioner seems to be high on the list. 

I was always for Physician Associate, but yes, it's somewhat of a weak move. People could still degrade us by simply writing Physician's associate, and its still a very vague name. Basically, you're still gonna have to explain what Physician Associate is and what we do. 

Medical Practitioner is a strong name, and it describes what we do, without having to explain our title. We practice medicine. 

[marktheshark89]

 I did a study in college students that included a question on this topic. Aside from keeping the current name Physician assistant, nearly an equal number thought medical practitioner was a good name. Not that we should let others decide our fate, but interesting nonetheless. 

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283636281_Knowledge_and_Perceptions_of_College_Students_Regarding_the_Physician_Assistant_Profession/fulltext/5664d1cc08ae15e74632f88b/283636281_Knowledge_and_Perceptions_of_College_Students_Regarding_the_Physician_Assistant_Profession.pdf?origin=publication_detail

[corpsman89]

21 minutes ago, marktheshark89 said:

 I did a study in college students that included a question on this topic. Aside from keeping the current name Physician assistant, nearly an equal number thought medical practitioner was a good name. Not that we should let others decide our fate, but interesting nonetheless. 

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283636281_Knowledge_and_Perceptions_of_College_Students_Regarding_the_Physician_Assistant_Profession/fulltext/5664d1cc08ae15e74632f88b/283636281_Knowledge_and_Perceptions_of_College_Students_Regarding_the_Physician_Assistant_Profession.pdf?origin=publication_detail

At least according to students, there is a clear winner. 

Physician Associate: 14%                      Medical Practitioner: 31%

[PACali]

7 hours ago, SoCal_PA said:

The more I think about it, the more I'm against physician associate. I 100% want a title change, but I think this is our only shot and we need to shoot for the stars. Our profession is going towards independence and this new title should reflect that. What should the new title be? Good question

I vote for Medical Practitioner 

 

1. Similar naming style as Medical Doctor. “Medical Doctors and Medical Practitioners are working as a team”. It will be easier for patients to understand that relationship. We’re not just here to take blood pressure, height, and weight.
2. It will work internationally like MD because it is easier to translate to different languages when compared with Physician Associate/Assistant. We’re always someone’s Assistant or Associate in any other languages.
3. It will differentiate us from Nurse Practitioners. They practice Advanced Nursing and we practice Medicine.
4. Patient understands what we do just by our name.  (This is a very powerful reason in my opinion)
5. Administration people will finally understand that we are not someone’s assistant or associate. We are not someone's minions. We practice medicine too and belong to the boardroom table.
6. There is no physician and doctor in this name, so we won’t be confused with physician or doctor.  

[Guest Paula]

On ‎4‎/‎6‎/‎2018 at 1:29 PM, ProSpectre said:

 

I agree with all of your points here, but unless I'm mistaken, the deadline to join as a Fellow member to be able to vote in this election was back on March 22nd. So it's up to current Fellow members to make sure they vote, and to advocate that their peers get out and vote as well, hopefully for leaders you mentioned like Dave Mittman, Beth Smolko, James Cannon, and Jennifer Orozco.  

 

I would still encourage any PAs that aren't current members to join for all of the reasons listed above though, and to donate to the PA-PAC. Being active in our professional organizations and putting our money where our mouth is are the only ways the legislative changes that are so often talked about on this forum will be made a reality. 

AAPA is helping WI with our OTP effort.  AAPA offered grants and we applied and got one.  The money is being utilized for grassroots marketing for our legislative push.  We just got it not too long ago so are still in the process of defining how we want to spend it.  It is controlled by AAPA  and we work closely with our state CO liaison who is doing a great job with our efforts.  We have been working with him for 3 years now.  He has been able to come to WI at least twice a year to help us, has met several legislators, works with our lobbyist and our advocacy committee and Board.  I believe AAPA really wants to see another state implement OTP and are putting their money behind those states who applied for the grant funds.  We are hoping to start the next wave of OTP states.  

[corpsman89]

I wasn't aware any state has achieved OTP yet?

[PA778]

Hey guys,

In Tennessee they are currently voting on legislation that would effectively name change PAs with a DMS. Here's a link about the "New Healthcare practitioner". I'm not thrilled about the name because it makes it seem like a new profession and requires more education, but at least it's a start. Here is a link to the bill: https://tls.mleesmith.com/2017-2018/pdf/SB1926.pdf

[corpsman89]

5 minutes ago, PA778 said:

Hey guys,

In Tennessee they are currently voting on legislation that would effectively name change PAs with a DMS. Here's a link about the "New Healthcare practitioner". I'm not thrilled about the name because it makes it seem like a new profession and requires more education, but at least it's a start. Here is a link to the bill: https://tls.mleesmith.com/2017-2018/pdf/SB1926.pdf

This has been discussed in detail on the forums. I believe that this bill was actually shelved some months back too. 

 

[PA778]

2 minutes ago, corpsman89 said:

This has been discussed in detail on the forums. I believe that this bill was actually shelved some months back too. 

 

Actually, the original bill was shelved. This is a new bill. You can search it on the Tennessee legislative website.

[LT_Oneal_PAC]

2 minutes ago, PA778 said:

Actually, the original bill was shelved. This is a new bill. You can search it on the Tennessee legislative website.

Then it is worse than the first. Opposed. What’s outlined in the bill, which is just basically collaboration, is something that should already be given to PAs. 

[PA778]

I agree with you, it's not very good, but it is in the direction of a title change. Also, unfortunately, this bill seems to be passing with little resistance.

[corpsman89]

1 minute ago, PA778 said:

I agree with you, it's not very good, but it is in the direction of a title change. Also, unfortunately, this bill seems to be passing with little resistance.

Title change I guess. But only for PAs who go to that specific program, yes? 

 

[LT_Oneal_PAC]

9 minutes ago, corpsman89 said:

Title change I guess. But only for PAs who go to that specific program, yes? 

 

It states a doctorate program 2 years in length that is conducted in a accredited allopathic or osteopathic medical school.

[EMEDPA]

2 hours ago, LT_Oneal_PAC said:

It states a doctorate program 2 years in length that is conducted in a accredited allopathic or osteopathic medical school.

THEY MEAN LMU ONLY. THIS IS CLEARLY SELF SERVING TO GET THEM MORE STUDENTS....