OK, I'm going to try this one last time.
This is the second time that I am saying this (please see my second post, second paragraph). I AGREE that PAs cannot and should not do the same job as physicians. OK? There is one thing that we can agree on. I know thats how you originally got into this thread, but it was not my reason. I can see how for someone like yourself who has obviously worked hard to get through your undergraduate studies and medical school training, you might feel like your training is being diminished by a non-physician who says they can do your job. You should know, however, that sentiment does not represent the mainstay philosophy of the PA profession. There may be some PAs in Washington lobbying for more autonomy, I don't know, I didn't hear about that. I do know that if they are, they are not there with the support of the American Academy of Physician Assistants. I never trivialized the training of physicians nor did I ever say that I could do their job. So how am I a hypocrite? I respect their training and knowledge base as most respect ours. It is not the same, that is true, and I wasn't making the comparison between PAs and interns to imply that they have the same training. The point of the comparison was to illustrate the fact that when both come out of their initial training, they both DO practice as an apprentice. That is exactly how a PA practices, as an apprentice. An apprentice functions under the supervision and guidance of a mentor or supervisor. The difference is that the apprenticeship is finite as a physician and infinite as a PA.
You asked me to not be so hypocritical. Take a step back for a second and read some of your posts. You are doing exactly to the PA profession as you perceived that someone was doing to physicians' training. We both got hot under the collar because we felt our profession was being trivialized. All of of us have pride about what we do and no one, not a janitor, desk clerk, lawyer, etc., wants anyone to trivialize or diminish what we do.
My whole problem with you has been the manner and tone in which you refer to PAs and the profession as a whole; stating that PAs need to "know their place" and are "beneath" the physician. Those comments drip with a haughty condescension that is only going to push people's buttons. I am going to assume that was not your intention. PAs do work in conjunction with physicians, BD. It doesn't mean that they are necessarily equal in authority, obviosuly they are not. My supervising physician introduces me to his patients as his associate who is a physician assistant. It doesn't elevate me to any other level than what it is, an association and a union. I work directly for and with him. Your comments, writing tone, and sarcastic insults (not that my posts were totally free of this) are inflammatory and only result in the hurling of insults between writers. Let's see if we can't rise above that.
I think the best thing to do here is just agree to disagree on some of the finer points of physician assistants and their role and "place" in medicine. I wish you the best of luck in your continued training.
I was getting worried that no one would answer my question. Do you know what the average GRE score for admitted applicants is?
