Fifty-one percent of clinicians prefer the recently revised professional title "physician associate" compared to 49 percent who prefer the original title of "physician assistant," according to new research from Barton Associates, a healthcare recruiting firm.
The American Academy of Physician Assistants changed its name to the American Academy of Physician Associates in 2022. Even after the organization's initial vote in 2021, it did not advise individuals in the profession to immediately change their professional titles, citing that "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."
But since then, no government body — federal or state — has formally implemented the change, so the majority of PAs are not yet using the title "physician associate" as a result.
The 51 percent who reported a preference for the associate title told Barton Associates that it "more accurately describes their role and leads to less confusion for patients who may think they’re just assisting doctors," according to the survey results.
Overall, the survey of 267 actively practicing PAs reveals that both legislation and individuals have been slow to adopt the title change and there is still not a consensus one way or another despite the AAPAs directive to implement the change two years prior.