Hot off the Press!

“The AAPA House of Delegates (HOD) today passed a resolution affirming “physician associate” as the official title for the PA profession by a majority vote of 198 to 68. The vote followed several hours of deliberation by HOD members and several years of study by an international marketing and communications firm.

The AAPA Board of Directors will now begin discussions to implement the HOD policy. As the Board moves forward with implementation, each constituent organization will conduct its own deliberations about a title change to physician associate. It is inappropriate for PAs to hold themselves out as “physician associates” at this time until legislative and regulatory changes are made to incorporate the new title.

AAPA will work to provide the same excellent member services and the robust work that is so essential to support the growth and advancement of the PA profession. The organization will continue to empower our members to advance their careers and ultimately enhance patient health.”

The web and media committee of the Utah Academy of Physician Assistants (UAPA) conducted a survey of UAPA membership earlier this month. A majority of respondents preferred Physician Associate to other proposed national titles.

This very timely change reinforces our profession’s commitment to team practice while communicating our recent practice act updates recognizing PA's current autonomous role on medical teams in Utah, increasing access to high-quality medical care for our patients, and easing regulatory burdens on PA employers and our physician colleagues.

We will therefore begin investigating a legal name change for our organization, to align our title with this national change over the coming year.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to your members at large with any specific questions you may have about the title refresh.