Do you call a PA Doctor?

[NOCOMRI]

Plain and simple, a PA is not a doctor. This is the same as wondering if an NP is a doctor and the answer is no. PAs have a lot of knowledge but ultimately are not doctors. I am a PAS and always correct people who call me doctor. All of the PAs I have worked woth do the same as well. We should accept the fact that we may be just as smart as the doctors but we are not them

What a funny question. PA's and RPA's (Radiology PA's) are not doctors, although most of them are referred as such and their head swells. Most of the people that call them "doctor", are clueless that there IS a difference. I usually will just refer them any other co worker, first name basis. We call our Providers, "Providers" as there are various medical professionals taking care of patients. But call the MD's doctor please and the PA's casually by their first name, they will respect your knowledge at understanding the difference.

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[mtnlion44]

PA's do not go to medical school; therefore they are not addressed as "doctor". "Mr." or "Miss/Mrs./Ms." would be correct.

THis thread was inevitably going to veer into the "Im Dr. Smith and I'll be your nurse today" debate. Personally, in that situation I would have people call me Matt, but I don't think this ranks very high in hierarchy of important medical issues. As an applicant you always want to be as good of an "everyday politician" as you can be without compromising your values. If an AD with a PHd from an online school makes the point of referring to themselves as Dr. then Dr. it is! .

Many PA program faculty have PHd's of one sort or another, so when you go to visit programs, pay attn. to how they introduce themselves and how they are referred to by other people in the dept. If you meet a PA and they introduce themselves as Kevin then Kevin it is. If you are unsure and a student refers to them as Dr. Smith then just call them that. It's always good to come across as someone who is a potential peer, but not at the expense of going against the grain of the particular situation. As far as shadowing goes, I would be even less inclined to call a PA who had a PHd "doctor" outside of the academic setting, but once again use the clues you are given and your EI.

 

[amadeushealer]

Even if they have Ph.D.'s, in a clinical setting PA's are not to be called "doctor".

All the PA's I have met ask their patients to call them by their first name. (Many call them "doctor" anyway.)

Thanks for that information. Very useful.

 

[gwarm01]

What's so hard about saying "Hi, I'm Dr. X, your pharmacist,"

I would never do this just because it feels like I'd have to spend too much time explaining myself to them. I've had plenty of patients who didn't even know there was a pharmacy in the hospital. One older lady thought I had come from her hometown pharmacy to discuss her discharge medications. It's a lot easier, for me, to just introduce myself with my first name and say I'm a pharmacist. Of course, I don't work in direct patient care anymore so it isn't really an issue.