What happens when you analyze 30 million patient visits by Advanced Practice Providers (PAs and NPs)? You discover that they care for the same types of patients as physicians and achieve equivalent or better results. In 2019, two MDs teamed up for a critical review of 30 research papers on the quality of care provided…
Mark Twain supposedly said that there are three types of lies: “lies, damned lies, and statistics." One statistic I hear often is how many years it takes to be an MD vs a PA. It seems pretty straightforward, right? “7+ years to be a medical doctor vs 2 years to be PA”. Except those numbers…
A state-by-state breakdown of advances in Optimal Team Practice laws since January 2019.
One of the last things any new graduate thinks about is adding to their student loan debt. Thankfully, I never really had this problem. But with tuition for the new Doctor of Medical Science program reaching up to $35,000, I had to decide how I was going to pay for it regardless.
I remember sitting in an undergraduate health policy class when the instructor resolutely declared that “healthcare is a basic human right.” I was preparing to apply to PA school at the time and was already bothered by the idea that someone might feel that they had a right to my time and talents. But if…
One of the questions I often get is, “Why PA Doctor?” It’s kind of confusing, I’ll admit. But it piques peoples’ interest and invites further conversation. I’m not at all advocating for misrepresentation. Are Master’s-trained PAs doctors? No, but they do what a medical doctor does and will continue to be called ‘doctor’ by endearing…
Optimal Team Practice (OTP) is the current battle cry for PAs focused on the future of the profession. But before OTP, there was FPAR or Full Practice Authority and Responsibility. Sometimes these terms are used interchangeably. At other times, they seem to be in opposition. What is full practice authority, which states have it, and…
Half of patients with a fungal nail infection will fail to respond to treatment unless you read this first! There are 3 basic steps to better care.
One of the greatest issues facing physician assistants (PAs) is that of a name change. But this isn’t a new dilemma. A vigorous debate has taken place for at least the last 10 years, but in reality, it has been a constant in the profession since PAs really started to gain acceptance in the 1970s.…
The first Doctor of Medical Science program for PAs was created at Lincoln Memorial University (LMU) in Harrogate, Tennesee. It was developed in conjunction with LMU’s DeBusk School of Osteopathic Medicine in 2016 to give PAs additional didactic and practical training to better care for the underserved. In 2017, Doctor of Medical Science legislation was introduced…
