Quote:
Originally Posted by Beef
The PA program is even more similiar to today's 18D training and background.
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Perhaps in the past...But right now I would have to strongly disagree...especially with the significant changes to the 18D POI that have occurred over the past 5 years. We just re-wrote the POI in August and I was astonished as to what was and WAS NO LONGER being taught - not to mention the time aloted for "new smart guy thingy A" but had to be taken away from "old Smart guy thingy B".
The number of mid-level education programs has EXPLODED over the past decade...so much so that we are schooling ourselves out of jobs and stagnating our salaries. Some area are SO saturated you are lucky to make what an RN makes. I was recently in a discussion with some very well networked companies and programs and they were unanimous in their vision:
Mid-levels are going to suffer harshly with the affordable care act. Private Practice and hospital group reimbursement is going to take a serious hit. And with it, the ability to bill for mid-level services is going to go down. Much of what mid-levels do in family practice settings are preventative medicine measures...that are going to become free of charge.
Further - add 24million new patients and no funds to increase your pool of supervising physicians - doctors are getting out of medicine, and with them go their supervisory role for the (maximum) 6 PA's that work for them. SO for every doc that quits - there goes SIX PA jobs with him.
This is the future we face in the profession -
Off the soapbox.