Question about Florida recent legislation.

[Hope2PA]

Did the legislation to give PA's some sort of gradual independence die again? While reading, it looks as if it was amended this past week to leave in "supervision", with no options of more independence.  Hopefully misread, however if it is true, and the AAPA/HOD vote keeps your title tied to physicians, your leaders really do not care about future PA's.  

 

[ANESMCR]

Mind pointing that section out? I’m still perplexed on the authorization to “supervise medical assistants”.

[Hope2PA]

Senate bill to expand physician assistant scope of practice clears final committee stop (floridapolitics.com)

Here are a few snippets:  Looks like cant practice without oversight (PA's are not Practitioners, you are, at best physician assistant/associate). 

The bill would also allow a physician to supervise up to 10 assistants. Currently, a physician is limited to supervising four physician assistants.

The initial bill also sought to allow physician assistants to practice without oversight. The provision, however, was altered in its first committee to instead modify the current limitation on the number of physician assistants a doctor could supervise.

A supervising physician is responsible and liable for any acts or omissions of the PAs he or she supervises and may not supervise more than four PAs at any time, according to a staff analysis.

 

 

 

 

[sas5814]

they touted this all over social media as being a great bunch of changes. I don't see it.

[Hope2PA]

1 hour ago, sas5814 said:

they touted this all over social media as being a great bunch of changes. I don't see it.

I was seriously hoping my interpretation was wrong.   Guess it is great as a PA, difficult to convince legislators you can practice medicine without supervision when title basically sets the standard.  

[Lbarnum]

The AAPA and FAPA are working (albeit too slowly) to create more PA friendly regulating agencies. The primary roadblock we keep hitting is that unlike ARNPs who get to essentially call the shots with nursing regulations, PAs are under the umbrella with the AMA alongside physicians. Last time we tried to get on the bill with ARNPs, the primary dissenting opinion used outdated credential requirements for PAs to say we were less trained. So now they updated that language and somehow we're still getting shot down. FL PAs will hit a professional ceiling in the next 5 years if we dont get this fixed. Our title change likely has to happen too as it is often used against us during the legislative hearings as well.

[sas5814]

why would the NPs care if we are in the same legislation? Are they just trying to protect their job market?

And our education and training should speak for itself credentials be damned.

[iconic]

1 hour ago, sas5814 said:

why would the NPs care if we are in the same legislation? Are they just trying to protect their job market?

And our education and training should speak for itself credentials be damned.

We don't add anything to their legislative efforts except a ton of members who are opposed to independence 

[Hope2PA]

A lot of NPs don’t agree with FPA, yet their leaders push  relentlessly to improve opportunities for Nursing and NP future. Guarantee those NPs who say they are against it are happy for increased job opportunities. Similarly a bunch of PA’s don’t want an appropriate title change that allows them to be Practitioner’s not helpers and they don’t want any form of independence. They would rather allow the profession to wither. Do PA leaders not have the foresight and power to be as proactive for the profession like NP/nursing leaders. Right now, they are your problem, not the old timer PAs, unless they are the leaders who may chose to ignore the need and make excuses for their lack of action. It’s the leaders that can actually can and should follow the  research, do what’s best and move forward. 

[sas5814]

2 hours ago, iconic said:

We don't add anything to their legislative efforts except a ton of members who are opposed to independence 

No we don't. We have often been seen as an anchor and so they happily help cut us out of legislation because nobody understands why assistants should be included.

 

8 minutes ago, Hope2PA said:

Right now, they are your problem, not the old timer PAs, unless they are the leaders who may chose to ignore the need and make excuses for their lack of action. It’s the leaders that can actually can and should follow the  research, do what’s best and move forward. 

I know this isn't a popular opinion in some circles but I think we are, in many ways, being help back by a group of old leaders who think "nice" and "diplomatic" are more important than progress. Probably more accurate we have always done things by being nice and diplomatic so anything besides that is inconceivable. We collectively lack the will to go bare knuckles when it might serve our purpose. I have said many times diplomacy without the willingness to apply force is toothless.

I have heard all the arguments about why we can't be forceful many many times. You don't necessarily need huge numbers or lots and lots of money (though it helps). You need an understanding of force multipliers and guerilla warfare and have a plan for making 100 PAs look and sound like 100,000. We don't even get the concept.

[Cideous]

If this were a horse, it would be beaten so bad right now it would be obliterated.  One day this profession will look back, what's left of it, and rue this day.  History will record this time as what will be our last chance as a profession to turn it around.  To stop the onslaught of losses to NP's both legislatively and in jobs.  

My only question now is this....Will our profession go out with a bang?  Or just pathetically fade away as PA's desperately try to flee the ship into other professions.

I'm telling you, the first program that puts out a credentialed PA to NP bridge is going to be SWAMPED with applicants.  

Believe it.

[Lbarnum]

44 minutes ago, Cideous said:

If this were a horse, it would be beaten so bad right now it would be obliterated.  One day this profession will look back, what's left of it, and rue this day.  History will record this time as what will be our last chance as a profession to turn it around.  To stop the onslaught of losses to NP's both legislatively and in jobs.  

My only question now is this....Will our profession go out with a bang?  Or just pathetically fade away as PA's desperately try to flee the ship into other professions.

I'm telling you, the first program that puts out a credentialed PA to NP bridge is going to be SWAMPED with applicants.  

Believe it.

Florida is a bit of a fly in the ointment, as we tend to resist things for the sake of resisting down here. We have 22k ARNPs to 8k PAs and the state is doing everything it can to double both numbers at the same time by adding schools left and right. They seem adamant about making NPs the primary care solution and PAs to remain a mid-level. We could change our title, to MCP to blaze our own trail but unless we couple that with independent PA regulating councils it will still come up short. NPs just got their right to register for autonomous practice 8 months ago, and already they've submitted to ammend it so they can register with the state Nursing Board instead of the DOH. They keep everything in house from top to bottom for nurses and nurses only. Thats how they win so often, there are no competing authorities or experts. We are under the purview of the board of medicine, so they basically just look to doctors to see if we're trustworthy

[Komorebi]

34 minutes ago, Lbarnum said:

Florida is a bit of a fly in the ointment, as we tend to resist things for the sake of resisting down here. We have 22k ARNPs to 8k PAs and the state is doing everything it can to double both numbers at the same time by adding schools left and right. They seem adamant about making NPs the primary care solution and PAs to remain a mid-level. We could change our title, to MCP to blaze our own trail but unless we couple that with independent PA regulating councils it will still come up short. NPs just got their right to register for autonomous practice 8 months ago, and already they've submitted to ammend it so they can register with the state Nursing Board instead of the DOH. They keep everything in house from top to bottom for nurses and nurses only. Thats how they win so often, there are no competing authorities or experts. We are under the purview of the board of medicine, so they basically just look to doctors to see if we're trustworthy

This is exactly why NPs won't join up with PAs. If we are linked, our oversight will be linked ("if PAs are under physicians/medical boards you should be too"). Thus the NPs have to keep everything separate. We always advocate that what we are practicing is advanced practice NURSING not medicine.

Edited May 5, 2021 by Komorebi

[WantToHopeForPAfuture]

All in all, we will be SUPERVISED because we are ASSISTANTS  while NPs get to practice independently. 

HUGE HUGE loss and gut punch to all PAs there