I think it's important that at this point we all sit back and think about the fact that at this point in our careers, we have more in-school training, more hands-on training, and higher testing standards than either PAs or NPs, yet we have less ability to practice and even less flexibility to practice despite this.
Please note that I am not in any way bashing PAs or NPs. I've worked with them, I've been educated by them, I've educated them (former resident). Like physicians, the dedicated ones are amazing at what they do and increase patient care and health quality which is something that cannot be denied.
All I am pointing out is the hypocrisy of the situation in which despite the fact that most of us would make perfectly decent limited-scope GPs (which lets face it, is what the country needs more than anything), we are prevented from doing so for no obvious or clear reason.
Again, I'm not saying that primary care residencies don't produce benefits and that people so trained aren't more equipped at all. Rather, I'm simply pointing out that we have a substantial amount of training and should AT LEAST have the degree of flexibility and freedom to practice that NPs and PAs do.