I just sent an email to Mr. OReilly, (plagiarizing some of my fellow colleagues.) Thanks, Stephanie Mayberg and Dana Kantara. I think we PAs need to get this out. Dear Mr. O’Reilly, I am a Physician Assistant. I am not a Physicians Assistant. I am not the property of a physician; nor am I a medical assistant. I am licensed by the state of Texas to practice medicine. I have a bachelor’s degree in Biology and went on to graduate school for two and a half more years and have a Master’s degree in Physician Assistant Studies. I took a national board exam upon graduation, which certifies me as a PA. I maintain annual CME requirements to maintain my license, and I have to sit for my board exam every 10 years to keep my license. (This is similar to the medical practice.) I made the decision to go to PA school; not medical school. I want to be a PA; I do not want to be a doctor. I am not planning on finishing school to become a doctor. I am trained and licensed to see and treat patients, write prescriptions, perform procedures in the office and assist in surgery. As a PA, I make less than a physician and have to deal with ignorant people not understanding what I do almost on a daily basis. I continue to do what I do because I am blessed to have colleagues that respect me and patients that are grateful for the care I provide. PAs are a very cost effective solution to the current healthcare crisis. It is concerning to me when I hear about people who may have experienced bad care in the past by a physician assistant, because I feel I give the best possible care to each and every patient that I see. Most feel that Physician Assistant’s give a lesser care than MD’s provide. This is often not the case. We often spend more time listening to our patients and educating them one-to-one of their disease processes. Most of our patients are very grateful of the care they receive from PA’s. It should also be noted that MD’s can also make horrible mistakes, so the degree after the name does not mean everything. I have seen a lot of things that MDs have done that is “not good medicine.” So please also keep that in mind, there are good and bad professionals in every group. However, I think the majority of licensed and practicing Physician Assistants are well-trained, use evidence-based medicine, and provide value to the general health care system in many ways. Your recent description of PAs on your show was unfair and inaccurate and unfortunately, Mr. OReilly, in your attempt to argue with the current healthcare plan, YOU misinformed millions about the PA role, where we can probably help to be a part of the potential issue of OBAMACARE.
Posted on: Fri, 07 Mar 2014 22:35:48 +0000
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