Data, turf, and the healthcare professions.

Abstract

The never-ending battle for money and turf among the US healthcare professions continues to rage and, of late, appears to be heating up. In particular, the American Medical Association (AMA) has increasingly taken the fight to both advanced practice RNs (APRNs) as well as physician assistants/associates (PAs), but others, including healthcare economists and policy researchers, also have used selective data from published studies to mischaracterize the contributions of PAs.1,2 Signals indicating a rise in anti-NP and PA sentiment also includes essays from physicians lamenting the decline in their prestige and authority, and physician concerns about the quality of the education and practice capabilities of APRNs.3-5 Hostile commentaries about PAs are not new, as Dehn pointed out, noting that “PAs are frequently misrepresented and misunderstood by health workforce researchers,” a point that remains problematic for the profession today.