I do think we should look at EMED PA's position. He is a PA with a lot of experience. He operates with a lot of autonomy in his current position, and his supervising physician must feel comfortable giving that to him. He has also admitted in previous posts that there is variability amongst PAs. It is his position, generally, that he can do a job well, and he resents the idea that he, or others with his level of training, shouldn't be allowed to aspire to function in his capacity.
In the overly regulated, overtrained medical establishment, we actually do have rules that mandate physician oversight. Regardless of how I may feel about this issue, no PA can function independently of MD oversight anyway. Overall, no one has actually been able to prove that having PAs involved in care actually diminishes quality of care. If we have to protect our market from PAs, I think that we should question our position within that market. The incompetence that people keep screaming about has either failed to materialize, or been checked by physician supervision.
Lastly, who cares how many PAs are in training? They will all eventually fall into a niche, and if more PAs are trained than there are PA niches, it will drive down the cost of PAs via supply and demand. I am training to be a physician, and when the battle lines inevitable clear, I will be competing for different positions anyway.
As a side note, no one goes bonkers when paralegals work in law offices. What about the secretaries? When I worked as a legal secretary, I typed up many forms according to the attorney's instruction that went directly to court and impacted people's cases. I still don't see what the difference is between a paralegal and a PA, and why one should have a greater right to exist over the other.
