Physician associate… should I report? Yes or no?

I’m not sure if they’d have said “Hello my name is… and im a PA” most people would know what a PA is. There should be posters explain the role in the waiting room. More awareness of their roles.

some PA’s that I’ve met who have a background of physio & radiography have been good. Some that I’ve met who have the appropriate ‘ology degree pre PA but not necessarily worked in or have a medical background pre PA training are a nightmare. They are the ones we’ve found trying pass themselves off as Dr’s and stamp their feet when they’re called out on it and stopped from doing things they shouldn’t be doing.

PA's should have no role in healthcare and neither me nor any of mine will ever be seen by one.

They aren't on par with any qualified and registered doctor or nurse. Seeing people think they are senior to nurses is very worrying.

Nurses are professionally registered, have a code of conduct and very clearly defined roles and responsibilities. We don't pretend to be something we aren't. We know when to escalate and get medical intervention from a doctor and work within a multidisciplinary team.

People are being pedantic about the term medic. A layperson would probably assume doctor, a healthcare professional would probably assume someone pretending to be a doctor.

On the future a PA may have a genuine and safe role, where they know their limits. For now it's just dangerous cost cutting.

The sad thing is, many of them probably don't understand how dangerous they are.

I agree. I’ve ended up seeing a pharmacist, nurse or paramedic and it’s been fine. They’ve been totally professional, made it clear who they were and what they could do. I never felt unsafe with them. This situation described by @Elsie256 isn’t ok.

I agree. I have zero formal medical training and I would be concerned by those symptoms. He is working outside of his competence. That is dangerous. As would a medical doctor who made decisions that they were not qualified to make. I would definitely report him.

At my GPs, we have I think they're called Paramedic Practitioners. Something like that. You see them sometimes instead of the GP. So if someone said they were one of the medics, I wouldn't automatically assume Doctor, but maybe that's because I know we don't always see a doctor. I would definitely complain though, especially as he dismissed you.

I hope everything works out for you xx

I made a gp appointment recently (or what I thought was a gp appointment.) When I went into the room the guy was lovely & explained he was a PARAMEDIC quite clearly, & explained what he could and couldn’t do. He went and spoke to a gp when he was unsure on something. So yes this was handled terribly. I’m so sorry for your diagnoses OP thank goodness you pushed for another appointment. Definitely complain.

We're quickly heading for two (or more) tier healthcare.

Privately, you can get trained doctors. Experts.

On the NHS, you get often well meaning people who don't know that they don't know, with minimal training.

It happened a few years ago with psychiatry, and it's happened now with physical health.

Primary care is the most dangerous place to have undertrained clinicians.

I’m so sorry OP. I would have been the same - assumed he was a doctor. He should have been clearer, very misleading. Please do submit a complaint. Many people would just accept the dismissal from the physician’s associate leading to a much delayed cancer diagnosis.

Wishing you the best of luck with your treatment!

If I was told I had an appointment with the duty doctor, and they said Medic I would also assume that meant doctor. You definitely should complain. I’m glad you followed up for another opinion, what if you haven’t. Best wishes for your treatment.

Yes I would also write a letter to the gp practice. All health care professionals should make their role clear to patients. The physicians associate also needs to be made aware of the fact that they have missed a diagnosis- to have the opportunity to reflect on that, learn from it and receive further training and supervision.

Yes, complain loudly and vociferously. My parents GP has a PA who introduces himself as Dr when he has a PhD, not a medical doctor. This clown told my dad he had incurable throat cancer on the strength of 5 minutes appointment, sent him for weeks worth of tests. Dad actually had a mild throat infection. Thank god it was that way round but I don't trust PAs to diagnose.

My experience of the NHS has led me to never, never trust what you're told but to query everything and be prepared to forcefully advocate for yourself and your loved ones.

Yes, complain loudly and vociferously. My parents GP has a PA who introduces himself as Dr when he has a PhD, not a medical doctor. This clown told my dad he had incurable throat cancer on the strength of 5 minutes appointment, sent him for weeks worth of tests. Dad actually had a mild throat infection. Thank god it was that way round but I don't trust PAs to diagnose.

My experience of the NHS has led me to never, never trust what you're told but to query everything and be prepared to forcefully advocate for yourself and your loved ones.

Very sorry re your diagnosis OP. I am a GP. IMO a ‘medic’ is a doctor. Allied health professionals are not ‘medics’ and most
importantly, should be introducing themselves properly (as we all should). This person did not have suitable clinical knowledge to assess you (unintentional weight loss and back are clear red flags) and I agree that you should complain.

You must report.

There is a lot on twitter about PAs misrepresenting themselves to the general public and not knowing their limits, which is a dangerous situation to find yourself in as a patient.

Haha I remember taking my dear dad to hospital and he saw the consultant, who clearly explained she was the consultant and he still said “thank you nurse” at the end.

But yes, you should complain and I’m so sorry for your new diagnosis. GPs are so undervalued - the breadth of knowledge they require is vast and their salary is peanuts compared to sheer volume of work they do. Calling himself a medic is a probity issue and that alone warrants a complaint, let alone his dismissive communication style and failure to spot red flags.

Even doctors refer to themselves as medics - specifically physicians, to differentiate from surgeons

This is fucking diabolical

COMPLAIN

I’ve been a nurse for 25 yrs and to me the term medic means a Doctor (anything from Students (although they are specifically referred to as Medical Students to avoid confusion!) up to Consultants. I would expect a PA to introduce themselves as such!

Definitely complain. I'm so sorry about your diagnosis, I hope you're getting the help you need now.

I'm a doctor and IMO this is beginning to become a massive problem, not in my specialty yet but in primary care and others and I see it happening for us soon too. There are lots of alarming threads on twitter (or whatever it's called now) about these people's scope of practice and lack of clarity about their actual role, supervision etc.

Yes. That’s not ok.

Please make a formal complaint.

I am sorry that this has happened to you.
Please put a formal complaint forward. It is important the practice know. You can also write to the integrated care board and if you don’t get a satisfactory response the Health Ombudsman.

The PA did not introduce themselves clearly. I’ve also heard them introduce themselves as clinicians, which while technically is true, is not a clear introduction either. People should know who they are seeing. I am a trainee GP (GP registrar)- I always introduce myself as ‘Dr Teddybear, I am a GP registrar, this means I am doing my speciality training to become a GP’. Some patients are satisfied with this explanation, others I have to explain a little more. It doesn’t take a lot of time and mostly patients are very receptive to it. There is a role for PAs in practice but unfortunately they are doing more and more and not necessarily recognising their limitations. However that is another thread.

Secondly yes they missed a red flag- the weight loss. We all make mistakes, doctors do to, we are only human. But this should also be highlighted and learnt from. It also goes to form a picture of this person’s clinical ability.

Again I am very sorry this happened to you and wish you the best for your treatment.

Please do complain. It would be a very constructive thing to do as well as you deserving an apology.

It shouldn't be a case of 'closing ranks'. He has missed a bright red flag- unexplained weight loss. He needs extra training and i think his course leaders should know about this so they can really hammer it into future and current cohorts. I'm a 3rd year medical student and it is one of the first things we learn.

Staff should also introduce themselves clearly rather than gloss over the fact that they're not a doctor. Nobody is 'less than' but it simply isn't the same training and patients deserve clarity.

Hope you make a good recovery

Yes, complain. There was a case recently where a physician associate missed the diagnosis of a pulmonary embolism in a young girl in her 20s, who sadly died.

Agree with this. I’m an allied health care professional and ‘medic’ to me means doctor, at least in the hospital. It should be completely transparent. The person OP saw should have introduced themselves as their exact job roll, not an ambiguous phrase.

This is absolutely awful, both the way they introduced themselves and for their lack of concern. You should definitely complain.