WHAT’S IN A NAME? QUITE A LOT, ACTUALLY
Hurray for Randy D. Danielsen and his recent editorial endorsing the physician associate name change for our profession (Clinician Reviews. 2011;21[9]:cover, 3-4, 5-6)! When I was a student in 1974, I looked up to Dr. Danielsen as a thought leader in our relatively new profession; the only change today is that our profession is no longer new, but now established.
The PA profession continues to mature as it grows: Who, in the 1970s, would have envisioned PAs harvesting veins for CABGs, performing colonoscopies and D&Cs, and indeed making complex diagnoses and formulating treatment plans without over-the-shoulder supervision? I, for one, believe that our evolution and success are in large part because of our unique relationship to physicians, not in spite of it.
While it is gratifying to have come this far, it is now time to clarify our roles to the public—our patients, neighbors, and friends. We must overcome the perception that we are “just assistants” and that we therefore are not qualified to provide a large portion of their medical care. Dr. Danielsen’s support of the name change to associate from assistant is a huge step in making our profession more understandable to the public.
I must say that I am disappointed in the defeatist attitudes of the NCCPA and the AAPA, which I have faithfully supported with my dues money for the past 36 years. My disappointment lies not in their positions as much as in their failure to consider the opinions of their constituency. That intransigence is unwarranted.
Thanks again to Dr. Danielsen for reconsidering his position and supporting this change.
Stephen E. Lyons, MS, PA-C, DFAAPA, Las Vegas
Having been in this profession for more than three decades, I can tell you that I have no problem with our current title and can say that I truly assist my supervising physician. My increasing levels of autonomy have no bearing on that philosophy in our practice.
I also can tell you that physicians and physician groups perceive the push for a name change as PAs positioning themselves for independent practice. True, physicians know that the need for PAs and NPs will only increase in the upcoming years of physician shortages. But it is also true that we should not risk future PA jobs by being perceived as trying to take advantage of that situation.
I disagree that it will not cost a large amount of dollars, time, or jobs to change that perception, and to convince physicians and legislators—or all PAs for that matter—that our title should be changed.
It is impressive that 5,000 PAs have come forward to agree with a title change, but that number falls quite short of a majority of the more than 80,000 of us practicing in the US. I would change my mind only if the vast majority of existing PAs are polled, respond, and agree, after being informed of the true pros and cons of this move.
Marie Gilbert, PA-C, AAPA Liaison to the American Academy of Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery, Dover, NH
I found your recent editorial “The PA Name Game” quite insightful, educational, and to me personally, amusing after all these years. With a long-standing interest in media and imagery, I came up with the title medex many years ago to obviate the problems you so eloquently described related to the term physician assistant.
When I started in the field in the mid-60s, I wanted to give the new profession a short, one- or two-syllable, easy-to-pronounce title that contained a very strong (image) consonant (like Q, X or K). The title assistant portended problems in my mind, because there already was a “medical” assistant in many offices.
I also wanted to capitalize on the very strong image coming out of the Viet Nam war of Green Beret and Navy medical corpsmen who were so competently taking care of our military men and women overseas. They were called medics. So why not give them a bit more training and let them continue “helping maintain and improve American health” on the home front as well?
With a basic working knowledge of Spanish and French, I contracted “extending a physician’s care” from those languages (un extension del medico or médecin extension). I came up with medex, close enough to medics to provide a bridge.
I wanted medex promoted as a first-class health profession, working with or extending the first-class work of a physician. The caliber of work delivered was always to be that of a physician, the ex- to denote extending that level of competence provided under close supervision.