- Joined
- Apr 8, 2017
- Messages
- 6
- Reaction score
- 11
Let me first of all say that I have an appreciation for what (and I use this term with NO CONDESCENSION, so perhaps I can head off the moral indignation of those who require trigger warnings) allied health professionals do, and by that I mean anyone who is not a physician. I have worked as, for example, a phlebotomist and also in the field in EMS with a busy fire department, so I have an understanding, and as I said, an appreciation for the time and effort required to do these jobs of a very visceral level rather than just paying lip service to them. I understand, for example, what it is like to clean a patient with multiple incidents of severe C. diff diarrhea, because I have spent much more of my time in the "house" of medicine in a subordinate position. Medicine is also my fourth career, so I am not one of those "mindless type A drones" who is "vastly unprepared for the real world" (vide infra).
That being said, it is hard not to be affected by comments such as these from the PA community (from the PA forum, directed to EmedPA):
There's also this jewel, in which several people take turns guffawing because several non-EM-trained physicians could not perform some very basic tasks with regard to a airplane passenger in distress (and, I do have to admit that there is a bit of humor to this situation). In a sense, this article makes the point that many have made in this discussion: namely, that those who do not have the depth of training, knowledge, and experience should not be expected to perform at the same level as someone who does.
So all that is being said here is:
..and not just in the numerical sense, but in the sense of training, knowledge, and experience. Yes, I respect the fact that EmedPA has a great deal of experience in the field. That being said, and I am speaking in generalities here, the implication that that is exactly the same thing as a residency-trained physician is to (and I hear that a lot from both PAs and PA students) dismiss residency as a trifling experience, in which "mental adolescents" tiptoe through the Emergency Medicine tulips while occasionally stopping to glean some random medical knowledge here and there, and at the same time being fed snacks and fanned with giant banana leaves by the oppressed masses of other health professionals à la Sally Strothers in that South Park episode - or, if you prefer - to "go through the motions" as mentioned above.
As I said, I have worked with both PAs and NPs and have a lot of respect for them as well as learning a great deal from them, and they have made a rational decision (for what I am sure are very good reasons) to pursue a different course of medical training. However, that decision doesn't mean that one should assume that someone emerging from NP or PA school is, mirabile dictu, all of a sudden a lean, mean, EM practicing machine that is just as good as a resident and therefore should be viewed interchangeably - or that X amount of time practicing is in all respects equal to what is taught in residency. I understand that EMedPA is stressing above that he doesn't consider them to be equal (although many a PA or NP does seem to sing that tune), but at the same time saying that there should be independent practice rights for all is, for all intents and purposes, saying just that.
That being said, it is hard not to be affected by comments such as these from the PA community (from the PA forum, directed to EmedPA):
There's also this jewel, in which several people take turns guffawing because several non-EM-trained physicians could not perform some very basic tasks with regard to a airplane passenger in distress (and, I do have to admit that there is a bit of humor to this situation). In a sense, this article makes the point that many have made in this discussion: namely, that those who do not have the depth of training, knowledge, and experience should not be expected to perform at the same level as someone who does.
So all that is being said here is:
2 ≠ 4 (WRT PA school vs. med school)
and
2 or 3 ≠ 7 or 8 (if including PA residency vs. EM residency)
and
2 or 3 ≠ 7 or 8 (if including PA residency vs. EM residency)
..and not just in the numerical sense, but in the sense of training, knowledge, and experience. Yes, I respect the fact that EmedPA has a great deal of experience in the field. That being said, and I am speaking in generalities here, the implication that that is exactly the same thing as a residency-trained physician is to (and I hear that a lot from both PAs and PA students) dismiss residency as a trifling experience, in which "mental adolescents" tiptoe through the Emergency Medicine tulips while occasionally stopping to glean some random medical knowledge here and there, and at the same time being fed snacks and fanned with giant banana leaves by the oppressed masses of other health professionals à la Sally Strothers in that South Park episode - or, if you prefer - to "go through the motions" as mentioned above.
As I said, I have worked with both PAs and NPs and have a lot of respect for them as well as learning a great deal from them, and they have made a rational decision (for what I am sure are very good reasons) to pursue a different course of medical training. However, that decision doesn't mean that one should assume that someone emerging from NP or PA school is, mirabile dictu, all of a sudden a lean, mean, EM practicing machine that is just as good as a resident and therefore should be viewed interchangeably - or that X amount of time practicing is in all respects equal to what is taught in residency. I understand that EMedPA is stressing above that he doesn't consider them to be equal (although many a PA or NP does seem to sing that tune), but at the same time saying that there should be independent practice rights for all is, for all intents and purposes, saying just that.
