badgerPAC Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 Anyone seen this yet? http://www.smartmoney.com/plan/health-care/your-surgeon-may-not-be-a-doctor-1346970593986/?link=SM_mostemailed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobWeiss1 Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 I read the article and I want to believe the old adage that "There is no such thing as bad publicity", however I am not sure that this article presents our profession in the most positive light. Specifically I take offense at the suggestion that I didn't attend medical school and at being called an "almost-but-not-quite-doctor", especially since the last time I checked I am registered with the University of Washington School of Medicine. While I am not receiving the standardized medical school training of a doctor, I spent 7 years working with patients in place of one year of gross anatomy in medical school. I would have preferred a more positive spin on our profession, and more of a focus on our role as a Physician extender. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator LT_Oneal_PAC Posted September 8, 2012 Moderator Share Posted September 8, 2012 It was a giant backhanded compliment IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Steve Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 On the bright side, the article used "physician assistant" instead of "physician's assistant" which is still commonplace in the average media. So the article has that going for it. I got a smile out of how they lumped endoscopies and heart surgeries together. Critiquing an article from inside the profession usually lends itself to being more critical of the information passed. While the article didn't flow very well and the tone sounded a bit desperate, something along the lines of "not enough doctors, gotta do something, we'll bring in these folks who are almost like doctors to help". If anything, this article will incite patients to ask their provider "what are your qualifications". This will be the PA's chance to WOW them with "yep, I've been performing stellar care of you for years and you never knew the difference. Pretty cool, huh? Tell your friends, I always appreciate referrals." Or something like that :-) And Rob..get back to studying. The PANCE is in less than year. See you in a couple of days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discogenic Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 That's a good article for the PA profession. Like Just Steve says, the reality is there aren't enough doctors, with a growing deficit of them predicted, so PAs will be there to help. At least this article mentions that; other recent physician-shortage articles haven't even mentioned PAs, so I see this article as a postive. Training, competency, scope, competitiveness are all mentioned. "Educators say the training programs mirror medical school in many ways, and studies have shown that physician assistants provide the same level of care as doctors, with no additional liability or malpractice risk." That's good stuff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discogenic Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 Specifically I take offense at the suggestion that I didn't attend medical school... Your info says you are a PA student. Why would you take offense? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator LT_Oneal_PAC Posted September 8, 2012 Moderator Share Posted September 8, 2012 Your info says you are a PA student. Why would you take offense? While not obtaining doctorate degrees, make no mistake, you attend medical school. You are taught medicine. Just like Associates degree nurse attends nursing school just like a BSN does, the same goes for us and physicians. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beorp Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 While not obtaining doctorate degrees, make no mistake, you attend medical school. You are taught medicine. Just like Associates degree nurse attends nursing school just like a BSN does, the same goes for us and physicians. The implication of saying that you attended medical school is that you are a physician. If we wanted to be technical, many people who receive a BS in things like biomedical science likely studied through a school or faculty of medicine, but it wouldn't be fair for them to say that attended medical school. This came up for discussion a couple of years ago as well (see the thread here) One example of the replies that seemed to be in line with the general tone of most: Sorry Folks, it isn't medical school. As much as we tout we are trained in the medical model, it is NOT the same as attending medical school. We are not entitled to sit for the USMLEs, we do not match into a residency, we do not take the hard core basic science classes... and we are not independent practitioners. Our education is 24-36 months (at the extreme). Theirs is 4 years plus residency. PA school is just that, PA school. But it is not medical school. Don't cheapen the education of those who go medical school and disregard the rigor of what our education is. It is disingenuious at best. G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discogenic Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 Wait. I'm confused. Are there PAs who tell patients/family/friends/etc that they go/went to medical school? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneValgene Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 Wait. I'm confused. Are there PAs who tell patients/family/friends/etc that they go/went to medical school? please tell me no! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon, PA-C Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 Wait. I'm confused. Are there PAs who tell patients/family/friends/etc that they go/went to medical school? Yes. I certainly did. My degree says "school of medicine" on it. So therefore, yes I graduated from medical school. Also, at some schools lots of other professions like biomedical engineers also graduate from medical school, since their department is listed under the "school of medicine" and their degree says "school of medicine" on it in many cases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator LT_Oneal_PAC Posted September 8, 2012 Moderator Share Posted September 8, 2012 Are you saying that PAs don't learn medicine or practice medicine? What about programs that are housed in schools of medicine, like pcom, uc Davis family practice, and many others? What about schools that actually give a masters of medical science? I don't agree with just telling a patient "I went to medical school" just like I don't think it's okay to say "I'm a doctor" without elaborating that you are a PA with a Masters, or have a Phd in whatever field, respectively. Full and clear explanations need to be given. It's not okay to say "he never went to medical school" because it implies one has little or no medical training. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JMPA Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 I was taught medicine at my school therefor i certainly went to medical school. I also have a license to practice medicine, so i believe that i must have had some formal medical training. What would you like me to call my school? Almost medical school! hmm accountants can say almost medical school. I am not calling myself an MD by saying i have medical school training for i was indeed taught medicine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discogenic Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 Yes. I certainly did. My degree says "school of medicine" on it. So therefore, yes I graduated from medical school. Also, at some schools lots of other professions like biomedical engineers also graduate from medical school, since their department is listed under the "school of medicine" and their degree says "school of medicine" on it in many cases. When you bump into an old high school classmate and he says "Yo Gord, whatcha been up to since we last saw each other?", you tell him you went to medical school? This "school of medicine" thing sounds desperate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discogenic Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 It's not okay to say "he never went to medical school" because it implies one has little or no medical training. I was taught medicine at my school therefor i certainly went to medical school. I also have a license to practice medicine, so i believe that i must have had some formal medical training. What would you like me to call my school? Almost medical school! hmm accountants can say almost medical school. I am not calling myself an MD by saying i have medical school training for i was indeed taught medicine. What ever happened to saying you went to PA school?? You know that 100% of the population associates "medical school" with being a physician. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneValgene Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 Yes. I certainly did. My degree says "school of medicine" on it. So therefore, yes I graduated from medical school. Also, at some schools lots of other professions like biomedical engineers also graduate from medical school, since their department is listed under the "school of medicine" and their degree says "school of medicine" on it in many cases. IMHO, if i were to do that it would be misleading...PhD's who graduated from my 'college of medicine' never say they went to 'medical school'. when someone says they went to medical school, there is an implicit thought that the person is a physician. you're right that technically you are telling the truth, but i just don't think that's good for patients or others when describing the profession. in the same way, i don't like it when doctorate nurse practitioners refer to themselves as 'doctor' in clinical settings. sure, they are telling the truth, but due to the connotation of the word doctor in a clinical setting, i just think its misleading. i always feel like it's best to exercise extra care when describing myself and my training for the sake of my patients. that's just my personal opinion. i always say i went to PA school. if they ask me where, i say 'xxxx college of medicine'. but to each his own - it's everyone's personal decision i guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest carolanimal Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 It sounds intensely desperate. What's wrong with simply saying "PA school"? Is PA school no longer something to be proud of? I can assure you that any PA who honestly says that they attended medical school will get ridiculed like crazy. Why the inferiority complex? The PA profession is great for people who don't need to be status whores. Where is this sudden "I attended medical school" sentiment coming from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted September 8, 2012 Moderator Share Posted September 8, 2012 I think it is fair and accurate to say " I graduated from the pa program at xyz school of medicine" but not "I graduated from xyz school of medicine" which would imply to most folks that you are a physician. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator LT_Oneal_PAC Posted September 8, 2012 Moderator Share Posted September 8, 2012 I think it is fair and accurate to say " I graduated from the pa program at xyz school of medicine" but not "I graduated from xyz school of medicine" which would imply to most folks that you are a physician. Agreed. Like I said, it's all about being completely forthcoming on both sides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discogenic Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 One criticism of PAs I hear from MDs is that some PAs "think they are physicians". A PA saying he went to medical school would seem to validate that criticism. "I go/went to PA school" is, to me, the only appropriate statement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted September 9, 2012 Moderator Share Posted September 9, 2012 "I go/went to PA school" is, to me, the only appropriate statement. isn't "I go/went to pa school at the program run by the USC school of medicine" a true and honest statement? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discogenic Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 isn't "I go/went to pa school at the program run by the USC school of medicine" a true and honest statement? Yes. It's the "PA school" part that I was emphasizing and, at least it seemed, that others were minimizing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JMPA Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 Whats wrong with saying I went to medical school to become a PA? I did indeed attend a medical school that taught me medicine. Why would i degrade myself and mislead patients to the idea that I was not taught medicine in the MD model. Saying I went ti PA school is equivalent to saying i went potty. We did indeed go to medical school, we do indeed practice medicine, and we should indeed be proud to be a PA. That fact that we were trained in medical separates us from lets say those that practice medicine and went to nursing school. To belittle and misinform our patients about our training is unethical at the very least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToppDog Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 Yes. It's the "PA school" part that I was emphasizing and, at least it seemed, that others were minimizing. Well, it's not that they were minimizing it. The context of how this came up was quite different. Yes, I agree PAs shouldn't be saying "I went to medical school" as that typically equates to MD; but, for someone to say that "PAs don't even go to medical school" is just as bad, as that equates to getting a degree from a Cracker Jacks box. It is justifiable to take offense to that kind of remark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgdog Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 Yes. I certainly did. My degree says "school of medicine" on it. So therefore, yes I graduated from medical school. Uhhh, no you didn't, you went to PA school. "School of Medicine" is the umbrella under which other schools are located, PA school, paramedic school, RT school, medical school, whatever. Don't be a lying sack o S**T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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