More than half (57%) of physician assistants described their relationship with physicians as very good, but 43% said they are only somewhat satisfied with how physicians treat them, a Medscape report found.
The "Highlighting Fulfillment Yet Unveiling Disparities: Physician Assistant Career Satisfaction Report 2024" surveyed 2,007 physician assistants across 29 specialties between Nov. 1 and Dec. 20.
In all, 90% of physician assistants said their relationship with physicians was good or very good, compared with 8% who said it was fair, 1% who said it was poor and less than 1% who said it was very poor.
Most physician assistants described their feelings about how physicians treat them as very satisfied (38%) or somewhat satisfied (43%). And 11% said they are dissatisfied with how physicians treat them.
When asked about their least favorite part about the job, 8% said the lack of respect from physicians, managers or peers, 1% said the requirement of delectation/practice agreement, and 1% said requirement for physician co-signature.
Despite overall satisfaction being high, 52% of physician associates favor practice autonomy, while 26% are against it and 23% said they are unsure.
Some respondents highlighted the sometimes shaky dynamic between PAs and physicians:
- "No trust and micromanaging."
- "Physician sees me as a threat to their ego; asks me to do menial tasks, which are not appropriate, such as getting someone on the phone for them, scribing for them, etc."
- "My relationship with my supervising physicians is hostile and I feel that he puts me in positions to fail often."
- "My supervising physician does not support me or my work."