Current News and Personal Opinion is produced
by
John Hardman RPA-C as a volunteer service for Minnesota PA's.
(April 19, 2000) The last issue of Current News and Personal Opinion
featured an editorial on an article published in Medical Economics
Magazine titled, The New Generation of Providers, What do
PA, NP and CNM spell? A Revolution in health care, and available
online at: http://www.pdr.net/memag/public.htm?path=docs/032000/article1.html
This article, I felt, presented an outlook for the future, that
decidedly placed mid level providers at the forefront of a potential conflict
with physicians over job availability. It was my position however, that
PA's do not replace physicians, but work under physician supervision
to compliment the physician's practice. This is very much different from
the independent role promoted by other mid level providers.
I have had positive comments in general about the article, but I was hoping to generate a discussion of the future trends in health care, as it relates to the role of the PA, and the relationship with physicians. If you have an opinion one way or the other, let me know what you think. You can click on the email link below.
I have received a letter from a fellow PA who wished to express her opinion on issues of MAPA board participation and involvement. I love it when others care enough to share their thoughts. Jackie Osterhaus, PA-C writes the following:
A NON-BOARD MEMBER'S POINT OF VIEW
Dear Colleagues,
I have been considering writing a letter to imPAct for some time now, to share some of my insights into the "working" of MAPA as I have seen it over the past few months. My goal in writing this article is to encourage all members to get more involved and take a more active role in our Academy.
Whether you have been a MAPA member for only a couple of years, like
myself,
or whether you are a legendary MAPA member, it is time for all of
us to step
forward and get involved, or quit complaining about the current
structure and
leadership. The current MAPA leaders do more for PA's in Minnesota
than many
of you may ever know, and much of what they do goes unnoticed and
under appreciated. Being a Board Member takes a great deal
of time, energy and
patience (as I witnessed first-hand at a recent Board Meeting),
and although many
of us feel like we don't have the time to give or the "know-how"
to be a Board
Member, we all need to find our nitch and pitch in any way we can,
no matter how
big or small, to make MAPA a more effective, diversified group,
working for the
benefit of all PA's in the state of Minnesota.
I, like many of you, felt like joining a committee, or heaven forbid,
running for a
Board position, was way out of my league. In my pervious life,
before PA school,
I had never been "politically" inclined, or for that matter I had
never played a
significant role in any organizational structure. What could
I possibly have to offer
as a committee or Board member in this organization? I would
be the proverbial
"fish-out-of-water", so why sign up. To that argument, I added
the fact that I
practice so far away from the Metro area - five hours to be exact
- so how could I
possibly contribute anything? Well, I hung on to these excuses
for as long as I
could, and after every MAPA CME weekend I would go home feeling
refreshed
and fulfilled professionally, except for one thing - I felt like
I should be giving back
to my profession and specifically to my state organization that
was doing so much
for me. I often found myself in 'awe' and envious of people
like Bev Kimball,
Cindy Ulshafer and all of the other "life-long" Board Members,
who were
doing so much behind the scenes work, giving graciously their time
and energy,
especially at those Board Meetings that tended to last for hours
into the night, all
to keep the PA profession in Minnesota moving ahead, always clearing
another
hurdle so my life as a PA could be better. Finally, at the
1999 Spring conference, I
took the plunge and sat in on a committee meeting, only as an observer
of course.
I just wanted to get my feet wet.
A year later, I am hooked, and I now sit on two committees, and I
recently
attended my first Board Meeting (as a silent observer, of course,
just taking it all in). I cannot stress enough what this last year
has meant to me professionally. I
have learned a great deal, mostly from watching others work, but
I have also
grown professionally because I have a firmer grasp on who we are
and where we
are going. I would also like to think I have made some small
contributions to our
organization through these committees, and though they may be quite
small in the
big scheme of things, they nonetheless have made me feel very
good, and I finally
feel like I am pulling my weight and doing what I can from where
I am at geographically. I feel certain that the knowledge and experience
I have gained
over the past year, again, mostly from watching others work, will
benefit me for a
lifetime. I know, and so should you, that all states are not
as progressive as
Minnesota, regarding PA practices, (ok, we are one of the only states
not licensed
yet, but other than that we are quite progressive), and I hope that
if I ever leave
this state to practice elsewhere, I can take what I have learned
from the MAPA
leadership and use it to better the lives and practices of PA's
elsewhere.
When I spoke at the Minnesota Partnership in Training meeting back
in March, I
was astounded (and overwhelmed at first) at the sheer numbers
of Nurse Practitioner students in the room versus PA students.
The biggest challenge that
we face right now both locally and nationally, is getting the message
out as to
'Who we are and What we can do for you', to all of the physicians
and administrators out there who are doing the hiring. The jobs are
there, we have not saturated the market, but the competition from other
mid level providers is strong, and because they are bigger in numbers,
we have got to unite and do a better job as a team to get our message out.
We can only do this if we have a strong, united front with everyone involved
on some level.
I challenge every PA out there, new, grad or veteran, to get involved
and make a
difference. If you find your self questioning what it is that
MAPA does for you,
especially when it comes time to pay those dues, don't write scathing
letters
objecting to the raised rates, get involved and find out what you
can do to make it
bigger or better. I guarantee you that a lot goes on behind
the scenes that many of
you never dreamed of, and with more people involved, it can only
get better, more
effective and easier for all involved. Remember, you can always
start out as a
'silent observer', then do as little or as much as you chose. The
nice
thing is that you set the limits, and if you are far away, computer
technology and
e-mail keep you feeling close at hand and involved.
Respectively,
Jackie Osterhaus, PA-C
Littlefork Medical
ostrhaus@northwinds.net
I would like to thank Jackie for submitting her letter for all of you to read, and for choosing to have it published as part of Current News and Personal Opinion. I would like to encourage any of you who wish to submit letters or articles for publication here to contact me at the email link below.
I would like to extend my wishes to all of you for a happy Easter, Passover, and Spring break.