Physician associate… should I report? Yes or no?

Yes please complain. I am sorry about the news you received. However well done for advocating for yourself and getting to the diagnosis.

That was meant to say cockyness not cockles lol.
Sorry for your diagnosis, hoping for you it's been caught early and responds well to treatment xx

Absolutely you should report as he blatantly lacks the knowledge of redflag cancer symptoms and this is just not good enough. The cockles is a dangerous attitude also. Was your urine even dipped, it must have had blood in it, was this just ignored?

Anyway I also want to say though, i am an ANP.
I start every single consultation with " Hi I'm insert my name, I'm one of the ANPs". I say this very coherently. I wear a bright red uniform (scotlands national ANP uniform) and the drs wear blue and green scrubs. I always wear a name tag which is large and has my name and ANP on it. I swear at least 95% of my consultations end with the patient standing up and saying " thank you Doctor". I started saying fully "advanced nurse practitioner" this did not reduce the number of patients referring to me as Dr. I often get thank you letters written and they always refer to me as being a dr, which worried me that people will think I misrepresent myself as a dr but my colleagues know I do not do this and have no intrest in such nonsense.
I will say I am a very experienced and thorough ANP who is genuinely very interested in my job and strive to fill my knowledge gaps always, so I do wonder if the assumption that I am a dr comes from the quality of my consultations but I genuinely cannot see how i can make it more obvious to patients.

Complain.

Most people don't know what a physician associate is and would assume 'one of the medics' is a doctor. Even worse you were told you were booked with a doctor.

Doctors are only allowed to work unsupervised in GP if they are a fully qualified GP

However physician associates are not a regulated profession, can do their 2 year course and apparently that's fine

The whole situation is a pending disaster

YANBU definitely complain Its awful they were so dismissive about how you were feeling and not listening as that lead to them not taking correct course of action rather than lack of medical experience.

If I'd booked a doctor's appointment and was told it would be with a duty doctor, I'd not think anything of them saying medic either.

I don't really understand if a PA doesn't have GP experience to diagnose and can't prescribe what would be the point of booking in patient with severe pain/ weightloss, maybe useful for things like reviews for long term conditions.

If someone told me they were a medic I'd be thinking not a Dr, but that's probably because I've worked in health care. I'd complain , with your symptoms he should have known to escalate it

Oh goodness, complain!! You’d asked to be booked with the doctor and you were not told otherwise so it’s the practice staff as well as the physicians associate at fault here. The moment I read back pain and weight loss I was thinking cancer and I am not a medic!! I am really sorry that is your diagnosis - I really wish you all the best for your treatment and recovery.

Yes I would have assumed that, firstly because it was at a GP surgery, and secondly because they told you that you’d be seen by an emergency doctor. If they told you they were sending you to a doctor, they should have done.

It’s absolutely outrageous and he absolutely should be reported. The surgery should be pulled up too. They should not be calling PAs doctors.

Are you sure he didn't have a name badge on with his job description.

I'm not sure that saying I'm one of the medics is dishonest. I bet if he said he was a PA 90% of patients wouldn't know it meant so saying 'I'm one of the medical makes more sense.

I'd still report it though because it might be helpful. Did he honestly say that you were overreacting? In those actual words?

I'm very sorry about your diagnosis.

I’m so sorry for your loss @quandry101

I’m really sorry to hear your diagnosis OP and I wish you much love and hope you have a successful journey.

My daughter is training to be a PA. She’s working incredibly hard, has has excellent feedback from both GP and junior doctors/consultants during her placement. She firmly believes that they should be in uniform, that it should be instantly recognisable to patients that they are not doctors. She knows her “lane” and I wholeheartedly believe that she will be an asset to the NHS. PAs, when used correctly, are a fantastic resource. They should have been regulated by now, they want to be regulated - it just needs to happen.

On the flip side, I buried my husband in 2021 after doctors failed to follow up on an area of concern in his lung following a PET scan after radiotherapy for a stage one cancer. PET scan showed it had spread for which he had major surgery. He was in hospital recovering for this, in excruciating pain in his back, but we were constantly told we had to go to our GP for another referral. He was discharged in September, back in two weeks later and dead in November. I’m lying in bed tonight typing this and just feeling that empty space beside me. I haven’t put in a complaint yet. Not sure if I will. Not sure if I am strong enough to have that final confirmation I lost him far too early because of someone not doing their job properly.

Having said all that. OP, yes you absolutely should report this PA. Rule 1 is you make your patient absolutely aware of who you are and what your role is, and you are a shining example of listening to your own gut about your health. I truly wish you the very best.

I was a bit shocked to visit my gp recently with a breast lump and got a PA - I basically said ‘you what now? What did you say? What is that?’ I was asking those questions with complete incredulity and disappointment as I wanted - and was expecting - to see a real doctor. She was actually very thorough and I was referred on a 2 week pathway but it still makes me cross that I was duped and given no warning or explanation until I got into the consultation room. The NHS really could do so much better on just the very basics.

Thank goodness you realised, but it's a disgrace that this is happening and you were misled. Sorry to hear about your diagnosis. Wishing you the best.

Article

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/1f4f5dba-1ea2-11ee-a0e9-e23dc75d995a?shareToken=dfba74d19a7f1339906e2d6fef6ad83b

many thanks for that link, Glittering.
sobering reading indeed.

OP, I am really sorry to hear your diagnosis. I rarely suggest complaints at this stage, as I think you need to focus on treatment and recovery. But this is not a complicated complaint, it shouldn’t detract you too much. It’s normal to want to know who treats you, who touches you, who plans your care. Furthermore, the sooner other patients are warned, the better.

Absolutely. As yet, there is no regulatory authority for PAs. This is why, for example, they can't prescribe. Or be held to account.

Medic doesn't mean doctor

Yes it is

Nurses are regulated, physicians associates are not for a start.

I’m so sorry you’ve been diagnosed with this.

My father was suffering from excruciating back pain and was seen by a GP. He was misdiagnosed for several months before he received his diagnosis of kidney cancer. This was a GP who had been our family doctor for over 20 years. My aunt, who was a nurse, had been laughing at him and telling him to stop being such a baby. It’s not just PAs.

@CarPour

"And actually are no where near a doctor or a nurse"

This isn't correct in reference to nurses.

I’m very sorry to hear your diagnosis OP. I would complain. I’m personally aware that “medic” doesn’t mean “doctor” but I work in the NHS and most people wouldn’t. Doctors can make mistakes too.., but I would wAnt this more thoroughly investigated, especially as another person had mentioned the guidelines that PA’s shouldn’t see repeat symptoms. There must be a reason this was put in the guidance so this needs to be rectified in the surgery’s protocols.
This is very small beans but I have an appt forthcoming to discuss menopause symptoms and HRT and it was offered as an appointment with a nurse - not a doctor - and whilst I think generally nurses have excellent knowledge I am still a bit surprised. NHS is changing before our eyes. I’m so sorry x

Please complain and report to CQC and local ICB (integrated care board). Three clear issues - firstly, and most importantly, this person missed key, and well known, red flags that they should have picked up. Secondly, they misled you in their introduction. Thirdly, reception misled you by saying you would be booked with the duty doctor. I’m so sorry for your diagnosis and wish you the best of luck with your treatment.

@Theyrethreetheyresixtheyreninetheyreeight
To a lay person going to see the Doctor - when she was told that is who she would be seeing, using the term medic would not make anyone think the person was not a doctor. It appears at no point did he clarify what he actually was. I don't the op quickly googled what the definition of medic was.