PA's

Q: When is a Physician not a Physician?

A: When they are a Physician Associate!

I Invigilated a room of trainee PA's this session, who were on their 4th year, & had failed one thier final tests - the online diagnostic exam. They were in the last chance saloon, and failure meant the unhappy termination of their 4 year journey. They were understandably stressed.

Now I see that the Grauniad has discovered that they may soon be renamed to “physician assistants” or “doctors’ assistants" I must admit to having mixed feelings about their use. On one hand, finding a way to let more people access healthcare seems good, but there is surely a reason why the first point of contact should be a GP? Otherwise why give GP's all the extra training? 

On balance, I think we should just train & fund all the GP's that we need.