RHC81 Posted June 3, 2012 Share Posted June 3, 2012 Thought I'd share this with you all. The moral of the story: educate, educate, educate! Names matter. My mother told my 92-year-old grandfather that I am "trying to become a physician assistant." God bless him; he is very protective of me. He has long thought I "wasted my talents" in journalism and has not totally forgiven me for not going to medical school directly after college. I thought it was all water under the bridge, so to speak... ...But then, when my mom says this, he harrumphs and pouts as only he can. Turns out, he thought I was going for medical assistant. He just heard "assistant." (**Disclaimer: Nothing wrong with medical assistants. But, since I already hold a bachelor's degree and he is all about advanced degrees, he was disapproving.) As I am about 5,000 miles away from him, my mother explains to him that a PA is very different from a medical assistant. It's a master's degree, lots of clinical hours, heavy in sciences, etc....After that, he was more than enthusiastic. The state in which he lives (Arkansas) has very little experience with PAs. The big medical university there is beginning a PA program, so hopefully it will become more mainstream in that state. Arkansas is very rural, so there is a lot of room for PAs to grow there. But there will need to be a significant education program and lots of public relations so other people don't make the same mistake my grandpa did! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IdahoPA Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 Actually, I had a similar question and I'm hoping one of the more experienced forum members will pop up to help answer it. If all of us are aware of the many misconceptions regarding our profession, why is there no widespread PR campaign to help educate the public? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAAdmission Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 The AAPA will tell you it is too expensive, and that they have been targeting all of their efforts toward key players like legislators... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joelseff Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 Did you guys miss a lot of the discussion about name change over even just the last 6 months on here? Cjadmission is right.... Limited resources and the desire to target big players. Problem is, as I see it, another good use of effort is the name change, and the organization kicked the can down the road... Further alienating the stakeholders in the aapa. Naw, they didn't kick the can down the road, they kicked it to the curb! Sent from my myTouch_4G_Slide using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PACali Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 We are going to hear stories like this over and over again, until we got the name change. Good luck on promoting the word "assistant" AAPA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IdahoPA Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 I've seen a bit of it. I guess I don't get the politics of it. I'm more of a "here's the problem...here's the solution...let's get to it" kind of gal, and am a bit confused when things get needlessly complicated. What would be the goal of "targeting key players like legislators?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briepm Posted June 4, 2012 Share Posted June 4, 2012 Next year is when I decide what to do... PA or NP. A step towards name change would enhance the image of the PA field in my eyes. Instead I see indifference. AAPA is weak... The ANA is strong. Each year another state grants NPs independent status because of legislative efforts and campaigns by nurses advocating for their advancement. That kind of thing will never happen for PAs, and because of that, they will always have a weaker hand. I've read discussion from the nursing field about how the term "nurse" in nurse practitioner is a drawback along similar lines as the "assistant" part of physician assistant, but in my mind, nurse practitioners and their representative organizations dealt with that by enhancing the image of that career. They are bigger than the AAPA, and have RNs as their foot soldiers. Everyone knows that nurses are traditionally associated with the healing arts, and are as recognized as doctors, so the name "nurse" actually enhances their standing. But PAs don't have that, and I think the name change approach highlights their position as medical providers in their own right. I'm sure this isn't your only factor in deciding between PA and NP, but you have left out pretty significant differences in the paths between the two (care experience, years of study, method of teaching, subspecialities in which you can practice, relationships with physicians etc.) Personally, while I do care what the AAPA does, it doesn't have an effect whatsoever on my decision to become a PA -the factors that I mentioned do. Would I rather not be called an 'assistant'? Sure, but in the end it's about the care we give and our careers - I can put up with explaining my job to people that aren't familiar with it. Are you already a nurse, or are choosing between entering a BSN to NP bridge program and applying to PA school next year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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