Conflict Rises as Physician Assistants Strive for Autonomy

Harmonizing the US Healthcare System Reshaping the Roles of Physician Assistants Who Strive for Independence

Photo by Alexandr Podvalny on Unsplash

When you visit an urgent care or emergency room, you won’t be seen by a medical doctor. These medical visits to urgent care and emergency rooms in the United States often begin with a medical professional introduction, often provided by mid-level providers who are not medical doctors. One greeting might sound like this: “Hello, I’m So-and-so, the PA who will examine you today.”

Some patients won’t listen to that introduction, while others ask to see a doctor and are told they must wait. Some mid-level providers might explain the patient asks to be seen by a doctor by saying, “I am just as capable,” or something similar.

The patients, who may be in a lot of pain, are then told that they will have to wait to see a doctor. After a few moments of thinking about it, they sometimes reluctantly affirm to the provider that he/she may examine them (AdannathePA,…