The Associate will see you now...
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https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/oregon-physician-assistants-get-name-change-2024a100084h
This month, Oregon's Governor Tina Kotek signed a bill into law that officially changed the title of "physician assistants" to "physician associates" in the state. The switch is the first of its kind in the United States and comes on the heels of a decision from 2021 by the American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA) to change the meaning of "PA" to "physician associate" from "physician assistant."
In the Medscape Physician Assistant Career Satisfaction Report 2023, we saw a diverse range of opinions on the title switch. Only 40% of PAs favored the name change at the time, 45% neither opposed nor favored it, and 15% opposed the name change, reflecting the complexity of the issue.
According to the AAPA, the change came about to better reflect the work PAs do in not just "assisting" physicians but in working independently with patients. Some also felt that the word "assistant" implies dependence. However, despite associate's more accurate reflection of the job, PAs mostly remain split on whether they want the new moniker.
Many say that the name change will be confusing for the public and their patients, while others say that physician assistant was already not well understood, as patients often thought of the profession as a doctor's helper or an assistant, like a medical assistant.
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Snowflakes
