Posted By: Paul | The Basics | 14 Comments
Is the correct title for a PA: physician assistant or physician‘s assistant?
Well, if you’re not sure, I can’t blame you. The confusion over the correct title for PAs is even worse than the confusion over what PAs do. So let’s get clear on it. Shakespeare wrote that “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” but not all agree. In fact, there was a serious move a couple years back to change the title from physician assistant to physician associate.
It may seem like a trivial matter, but if you want to be a PA, you need to know how to say it properly. Yes, we hear people messing it up all the time - news anchors, even doctors, and occasionally even some PAs! If you join this young field, prepare yourself for the reality: you’ll hear people getting your title wrong a lot. If that makes you think twice about becoming a PA, then you probably shouldn’t become one.
But, if you aren’t so high strung and can take things in stride (a good quality in any health care provider) then you’ll learn to let it go. Or maybe you’ll even politely correct someone else when you hear them say it wrong: “Just FYI, Bob, it’s not physician’s assistant, it’s physician assistant - there’s no ‘s’ between the words.” [Polite smile goes here].
It matters.
Case in point: when I was 16, I got my first job. It was at a barbecue restaurant in Burlingame, CA. I had never waited tables and was hoping to score the “big bucks” of $5.50 per hour plus tips. Okay, go ahead and laugh. I was so young! Anyway, the boss told me after my interview, “Good for you, kid. You wrote on your application that you are applying to be a server, not a waiter. I don’t hire applicants who put “waiter.” He had worked in the restaurant business for decades, and whenever he heard anyone call themselves a waiter, he cringed. It was a matter of pride. “You don’t spend you whole day waiting,” he told me, “You spend your day serving.”
Knowing the proper title of the career you’re pursuing shows that you’re serious about it. Using the wrong title makes you look plain stupid.
What’s wrong with the term Physician‘s Assistant? I can only give my opinion. Beside the fact that it’s just plain incorrect, I think it has a lot to do with PAs not wanting to feel owned by someone else. That apostrophe-S implies ownership, as in “Sarah’s dog,” or “Dr. Lee’s [very own] assistant.” Believe me, with the work that PAs do, nothing could be further from reality.
Although the public is becoming more savvy about PAs, the physician’s assistant title is all over the internet, and the reason, not surprisingly, is money. There’s far less Google competition for web pages using the wrong job title than the right one. It’s similar to typosquatting,” the shady practice of making webpages with URLs (web addresses) with common typos in them. And since pages like gmial.com often have google ads on them, Google makes money from it too. Ever accidentally type in Goohle.com? Don’t bother.
So if you can’t get your webpage about Physician Assistants to the top of the google rankings, you just might get your page about — man, I hate to even type this — physician‘s assistants to the top. Believe me, there’s money at the top of goohle. Eh…I meant google.
My advice: if you want to become a PA, don’t get your information from sources that use the term physician‘s assistant - either they’re ignorant, or they’re after your money. Finally, say it the correct way: Physician Assistant.
I think physician assistant was a federal choice too. Physician’s seemingly did own us. In the 1970’s I was Dr. Soandso’s
PA. At Duke our student name badge said Physician Associate. But to settle reimbursement issues the legal name became what it is. Check out the PA History site to see how it all evolved.
Thanks, Bruce. Nice to hear some confirmation on how this all went down. The PA History site is a good resource, and I probably should freshen up on what I know (it’s been a while) particularly for anyone who has an interview coming up. By the way, folks, Bruce has a nice site of his own - thepapath.com - definitely worth a look!
You’re not alone. My profession, one that has been around much longer than PAs, has at least three names, and none of them are perfect: Medical Technologist (med tech), Clinical Laboratory Scientist, and Medical Laboratory Scientist. The original name, Medical Technologist, is no longer descriptive of what I do, and misleads people into thinking I am a lowly “tech”-not a highly trained, BS degree holding scientist. The other two, newer names, are more accurate, but long and cumbersome-not nearly as nice as “doctor” or “nurse” or “pharmacist”. Names do matter! If the profession had a good name, perhaps I wouldn’t get so many blank stares when I tell others what I do-something I think PAs can relate to.
Yes, and few know the distinction between technician and technologist. If I have it right, “technicians” are the people who repair and maintain technical equipment (like ultrasound machines, etc.) and “technoligists” are the people who use the equipment and interpret the results that come from it.
Well, your post was certainly enlightening. I was listening to this conversation where the PA refers to himself as Physician Assistant and the lawyer keeps saying Physician’s Assistant. :D. Well, now I know. Thanks!
Like I said, I’ve even met a few PAs who call themselves Physician’s Assistants. I think if you want people to understand and respect the profession, you need to start by earning it yourself!
As an editor, it would be extremely helpful if someone would persuade the American Heritage Dictionary to update its reference. Even the recent fifth edition uses the possessive.
I wholeheartedly agree with you. I hear it on the news on a weekly basis. It’s a point that belongs in the Chicago Manual of Style. Maybe I’ll write the CMS and AMD about it!
My name is Sara . I am thinking to become a PA . But I would love to take to someone who is already in the field to ask several questions. If anyone could help me with that would me awesome.
Thanks
Hi, Sara! Sounds like you would benefit from doing some shadowing. If you aren’t familiar with shadowing, you basically follow a PA around and observe. Between patients (or if the PA gives you the green light, sometimes during patient encounters) you can ask questions to learn more about what they’re doing. We do also offer Teleconsults, which are (paid) phone consultations to help you address whatever you might need to know about. They’re a good way to “master plan” your attack at joining this profession. To learn about Teleconsults, you can click here.
Worry less about your title; more about your patients. The chip on your shoulder is weighing you down.
I couldn’t agree more.
Wanting to know the correct spelling or punctuation of a word or a group of words in a title is not neglecting patients nor having a chip on ones shoulders. I’m glad to see this misconception of the apostrophe-s being corrected. Are you by chance Griff and Paul a Nurse’s Practitioner?
Thanks. My name is Paul Kubin, and I’m a physician assistant.