Explaining PAs
Nice job by the AAPA to team with the International Food Information Council to create a patient handout about healthy eating during pregnancy.
Down the right side of the handout is this explanation of the PA profession:
A Message from the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA)
Physician assistants are licensed health professionals, and valued members of a health care team that includes a supervising physician. PAs deliver a broad range of medical and surgical services to diverse populations. PAs can diagnose and treat illnesses, order and interpret tests, and prescribe in all 50 states, District of Columbia, and Guam. PAs also counsel on preventive health care and assist in surgery.
As I’ve stated so eloquently before, “Blah, blah, blah ... “
This is not an effective way to educate people about the PA profession.
The PA profession desperately needs a simple tagline to strengthen the PA brand. Something like:
PAs Practice Medicine
All that other “valued members of a health care team that includes a supervising physician ... ” mumbo jumbo can come later, if people ask for more information.
There’s even more to the message included in the patient handout:
AAPA is the only national organization to represent the nation’s nearly 80,000 physician assistants in all clinical specialties. Founded in 1968, the Academy works to promote quality, cost-effective health care, and the professional and personal growth of PAs. For more information about the Academy and the PA profession, visit AAPA’s Web site, www.aapa.org.
First of all, I think that people can figure out that the American Academy of Physician Assistants is the group that represents PAs. It’s self-explanatory. There’s no good reason include the AAPA’s mission statement on a patient handout.
Second, it’s not necessary to place AAPA information on a patient handout at all. It’s supposed to be about PAs and the PA profession, period, not about the academy.
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