Tennessee Physician Assistants Blogged

PAs originated in the Vietnam War. Medics with surgery skills, placing needle decompressions, placing chest tubes, etc. PAs have been utilized in the underserved regions.

I work with PAs who are good and bad, and docs who are good and bad.  The PAs I have worked with are Navy Seals - colleagues who don't go by titles but by the clinical knowledge to prescribe clindamycin over amoxicillin for infections, or my fellow PAs who know better than to prescribe MOXIFLOXACIN FOR UTI, as my father was prescribed by the physician. I spoke to the doc - because it is all about the patient and not the title right?  

Also medical providers hear when a doc misdiagnoses.  News - happens all the time to all medical providers.  Your colleagues will inform you there are 1,700,000 iatrogenic (doctor caused) deaths/ per year.  When a clinical manifestation does not flow with a patient's history, PE, and clinical evaluations expand your differential diagnosis.  PAs in the trenches should call upon several clinical evaluations with your colleagues when you are in over your head.  As a loyal AAPA member and primary care PA I have been called in to make clinical calls when others are at a loss. We have great PAs and MDs which conduct student lectures.  A physician told me the PAs from the school which I had received my training intimidate them. That is never the goal but I saved two docs.  They were calls missed in primary care.  I encourage PAs proceed to rootout opportunities in primary care.  

This is a great discussion.