New Assistant Physician Licensure Program Raises Concerns

[coloradopa]

Here is the medscape article. Interesting and entirely predictable. 

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/903840

[mgriffiths]

just adds more fuel to the fire regarding our needing to change our name!!!  "Assistant physician" vs "Physician Assistant" that is just confusing and stupid - but while it is frustrating to see several of the comments question our education/abilities, I am thrilled to see individuals who are not PAs defending our abilities.

[rev ronin]

The scary thing is that, were it not for the expansion in MD/DO graduates relative to the expansion in residency slots, each of these folks would likely have matched into a residency somewhere.  Definitely not the cream of the physician crop, to a P < .001 level.

[GetMeOuttaThisMess]

1). Surprised that it took until two hours ago to be brought up.

2). Comments at Medscape are interesting, as usual.

[lkth487]

This is a horrible idea for physicians.  It will create an incentive to increase med school spots without a corresponding increase in residency spots.  It's not hard to get into a residency right now, but it might eventually.

[HMtoPA]

I actually don't think it's a bad idea. These people are legit MDs - they just aren't residency-trained. Neither are most of us!

I don't know if it's true or not, but one of the commenters said that 17,000 physicians failed to match last year because med school growth has outpaced residency growth. That's crazy. I think it makes sense to put 'em to work in a midlevel-type role, although I do hope they get to match eventually. In the Navy we call them "GMOs" (General Medical Officers) and they usually do an operational tour (ship, squadron, Marine battalion) before going back and finishing residency. But I think they usually do the internship year after med school and before their GMO tour, which is now rolled in to most residencies, I think.

[PolakPA]

I really hope this just stays a Missouri thang, buried deep in the Ozark mountains  (or wherever else Missouri people hangout). If only we actually had some lobby power, the nccpa or aapa could have actually done something to try and stop this........

[EndBulbsOfMouse]

8 hours ago, HMtoPA said:

I actually don't think it's a bad idea. These people are legit MDs - they just aren't residency-trained. Neither are most of us!

I don't know if it's true or not, but one of the commenters said that 17,000 physicians failed to match last year because med school growth has outpaced residency growth. That's crazy. I think it makes sense to put 'em to work in a midlevel-type role, although I do hope they get to match eventually. In the Navy we call them "GMOs" (General Medical Officers) and they usually do an operational tour (ship, squadron, Marine battalion) before going back and finishing residency. But I think they usually do the internship year after med school and before their GMO tour, which is now rolled in to most residencies, I think.

No, there are way more residency spots than US medical graduates.  It’s true that foreign grads don’t match at a high rate.  And as mentioned in the article, a large percentage of these guys are foreign grads. 

[mgriffiths]

10 hours ago, HMtoPA said:

but one of the commenters said that 17,000 physicians failed to match last year because med school growth has outpaced residency growth.

I didn't see the comment, but I don't believe that number to be true.  How many medical school graduates are there per year?

According to the link below there were 19, 254 medical school graduates in the USA for the year 2017.  So, 88.3% of them didn't match!?!?!?!  Maybe the website is wrong, but even still I don't think that number is true.

https://www.kff.org/other/state-indicator/total-medical-school-graduates/?currentTimeframe=0&amp;sortModel={"colId":"Location","sort":"asc"}

[lkth487]

There are ~30,000 allopathic residency spots per year, with less than 20,000 graduates.  The overall number of US grads who end up in a residency is likely ~99%.  Though some of those may have to scramble.  The people who are feeling the squeeze are the graduates of foreign medical schools.

[Guest JMPA]

So are these " doctors of assistant physician studies" ? 

[thinkertdm]

1 hour ago, JMPA said:

So are these " doctors of assistant physician studies" ? 

That's right, DAPS.  Dapper Dans, we call 'em.  "I say, you look very dapper today, my good man!" "Thank you sir, and same to you sir!"

They have curly mustaches and twirl them, like circus folk.

[lkth487]

 

[polarbebe]

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/quality/care-concerns-emerge-from-missouri-s-assistant-physician-licensure-program.html