Is “practitioner of allopathy” a better title for the PA profession?

It’s been two years since the AAPA voted to change the PA profession’s title from “physician assistant” to “physician associate.”  The title change is slowly taking effect across the states, but not without controversy.  There are complaints from physician groups (as expected), who feel the name change confuses patients and misrepresents PA credentials [1].  Yet, many PAs can share personal stories of trying to explain to patients that they aren’t actually anyone’s “assistant,” so a name change has been long overdue.

But… is “physician associate” the right title?  

PA Peter Young suggests a better title for PAs is “practitioner of allopathy,” which translates to “a person with practical knowledge of contemporary orthodox medicine [2].”  This title would allow the profession to keep the “PA” abbreviation and distinguish the profession from physicians.  

This proposal for a different title from PA Young might be coming too late… but when I think about being a “physician associate” versus a “practitioner of allopathy,” I think PA Young’s proposed title is more reflective of the profession.

Which PA title do you think is best?  

Nikki Rataj Casady, DMSc, PA-C

email@appcolleague.org