The Pros And Cons Of A Physician Assistant

Over the years, there had been discussions about the possibility of changing the name of the profession, “physician assistant”. Physician assistants are licensed to practice medicine with supervision by physicians (Barsukiewicz). The physician assistant’s profession has served the healthcare for more than 45 years. Healthcare is endlessly changing. The name “physician assistant” has been associated with medicine and has helped the demand of our growing healthcare system. The profession has outgrown its name and causes misunderstanding. The original meaning of a physician assistant is to assist a physician, and now, it has evolved more towards as associates rather than assistant. There are logical arguments from both sides of this movement. I picked this topic because it really grabbed my attention and I wanted to formulate my opinion about this issue. The APPA House of Delegates has debated this issue in 1971, 1994, 1998, and 2010 and couldn’t make a decision. I am also graduating soon with my Bachelor’s in Biomedical Science and have been considering applying for a Master’s in the medical field as a …show more content…
Some of the pros of this name change are that the original names for the profession was physician associate and many current PA’s received their diplomas with a physician associate title. The assistant title can be misleading to the public and the consumer. The title of “assistant” is commonly used to describe a technical job and not a profession. The “assistant” title does not accurately describe the current role in medicine. The title “associate” is used commonly with other titles like associate professor, associate dean, and is already been accepted by the public. A physician assistant is more than just a physician’s helper; it’s a partnership. If a patient recognizes the physician’s assistant as associates, they will be more comfortable with the physician assistant recommendations about their