Many PAs feel that the physician assistant title does not accurately represent their role in healthcare. Furthermore, the title causes confusion for patients, making it more difficult for them to understand the capabilities of PAs and ultimately presenting barriers to care.
The AAPA House of Delegates passed a resolution to officially investigate a title change in order to determine the best marketing strategy and title for the PA profession.
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐈𝐓𝐋𝐄 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄 𝐈𝐍𝐕𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐆𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐀𝐈𝐌𝐒 𝐓𝐎 𝐀𝐍𝐒𝗪𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐎𝗪𝐈𝐍𝐆:
1. Is there a need to evolve the PA brand based on an objective, well-informed, data and analysis-driven view of where it stands today?
2. And if so, how do we redefine how the PA profession is positioned, how its value is conveyed, and how it is titled to meet the requirements of tomorrow’s healthcare landscape?
A title change would not redefine what we do as PAs, but rather would provide clarity in order to better inform our patients and colleagues of our role within the healthcare system.
I'm curious to know what you think. Should we consider changing the physician assistant title?
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