Doctor Soraluce
Registered User
- Sep 28, 2017
- 7,051
- 4,459
Sounds like you hate PA's. Is it because some places choose to hire less doctors and use PA's instead to save money? Serious question, not a jab. If you go to Urgent Care for Providence in Oregon there's probably a 50/50 chance you're going to see a PA. I never said they introduce themselves as "Doctors". Everything else I said is a reality whether you approve or not.Like I said, that's a whole 'nother conversation, but I just wanted to note patients should be made aware that a PA is nowhere close to a doctor. They absolutely do not have the knowledge, expertise, or training to "handle all responsibilities". The new laws where NPs and PAs are fighting for independent practice is a huge disservice and danger to the public. It's also against the law if any of them introduce themselves as "Doctor" in a clinical setting. You as a patient have the right to see an MD/DO during all of your visits, and you should start demanding to do so if you haven't already.
Yeah, PAs are nowhere near as qualified as MD/DOs despite them certainly having a role in the healthcare system...and that's fully licensed PAs let alone trainees. A PA trainee basically has the qualifications of a senior medical student...
Doesn't sound like you two know what a PA actually is and does. So take a moment and enlighten yourself. Maybe you guys are confusing PA's with Nurse practitioners...?This is laughable and an insult to physicians who spend 7+ years in training. I don't want to derail the thread but this isn't even remotely true.
Home - AAPA
"PAs are medical professionals who diagnose illness, develop and manage treatment plans, prescribe medications, and often serve as a patient’s principal healthcare provider. With thousands of hours of medical training, PAs are versatile and collaborative. PAs practice in every state and in every medical setting and specialty, improving healthcare access and quality."
"PAs’ specific duties depend on the setting in which they work, their level of experience, their specialty, and state laws.
Generally, PAs can:
• Take medical histories
• Conduct physical exams
• Diagnose and treat illness
• Order and interpret tests
• Develop treatment plans
• Prescribe medication
• Counsel on preventive care
• Perform procedures
• Assist in surgery
• Make rounds in hospitals and nursing homes
• Do clinical research"
"PAs are committed to team practice with physicians and other healthcare providers. Currently, most state laws require PAs to have an agreement with a specific physician in order to practice. These agreements were included in early PA practice acts 50 years ago when the PA profession was new and untested."
"Today, PAs are still held to these obsolete requirements despite the PA profession being well established, highly trusted, and essential to the U.S. health care workforce."
"PAs are educated at the master’s degree level. There are more than 250 PA programs in the country and admission is highly competitive, requiring a bachelor’s degree and completion of courses in basic and behavioral sciences as prerequisites. Incoming PA students bring with them an average of more than 3,000 hours of direct patient contact experience, having worked as paramedics, athletic trainers, or medical assistants, for example. PA programs are approximately 27 months (three academic years), and include classroom instruction and more than 2,000 hours of clinical rotations."
So yeah, a lot of the same stuff doctors do.