When you’re feeling unwell and you make an appointment with your GP, it’s not unreasonable to assume that the person you end up seeing is a doctor. However, it’s increasingly likely that this isn’t the case.
In fact, you may be unknowingly discussing your symptoms with someone who doesn’t even have a medical degree.
I’m talking about “physician assistants” (PAs). A survey conducted last week by Ipsos found that 57 percent of people had either never heard of PAs or had heard of them but had no idea what they actually did.
Still, I’m sure many of those surveyed will have been seen by a personal assistant, without even knowing it.
In medical school I was taught that the most dangerous thing for a doctor is not not knowing something: it’s not realizing that you don’t know it.
To be clear, a medical assistant is not a doctor. Their widespread use in the NHS is relatively new – the original idea was that they would “assist” doctors.
However, as the health service becomes increasingly saturated, they have begun to take on more and more clinical responsibilities, even though they never attended medical school, but instead, after obtaining their degree,
A science-based degree, which completes a two-year postgraduate course. I find this very worrying. In my opinion, it is unethical and contradicts informed consent if you are under the impression that the person you are discussing private medical matters with is a doctor.
There is no doubt that medical assistants can be a huge help to doctors, but too often they are used to fill gaps – and the NHS plans to employ 10,000 of them by 2037!
In medical school I was taught that the most dangerous thing for a doctor is not not knowing something: it’s not realizing that you don’t know it.
When people are not aware of the limitations of their knowledge, it is very easy to make mistakes. And that is precisely my concern with personal assistants.
It generally takes a minimum of 10 years to train a GP.
They will have completed five or six years of medical school, two years as a junior doctor and another three years of training as a general practitioner.
How can a personal assistant compare with that level of experience? It is no wonder that so many are concerned about the rise of personal assistants, with the Royal College of General Practitioners recently calling for a halt to their recruitment and allocation.
Two years of training cannot provide a personal assistant with as much knowledge and skills as a doctor. This is not medical snobbery, it is simply a fact.
I have had personal experience of the risks that PAs can pose to patients. About a year ago, my mother was called into her GP surgery to discuss her medication as part of a “review”.
I was impressed that they took a proactive approach and monitored their medication as I have seen many people who have been repeatedly prescribed medication inappropriately.
She called me later to tell me that she had seen a “lovely doctor” who had advised her to stop taking her blood-thinning medication. I was stunned. She had suffered multiple strokes and had been told by several specialists that she must take blood thinners for the rest of her life.
I found it extraordinary that a primary care physician would go against specific advice from specialists. I became very concerned and asked my mother not to make any changes and to call the office for clarification.
It turned out that she had not seen a doctor, but a personal assistant. She had diligently followed the national guidelines on anticoagulants in older people, but had not understood at all that a “one-size-fits-all” approach cannot be applied, especially in patients with complex medical histories.
My mother was put back on medication immediately, but what if her son hadn’t been a doctor? What if she hadn’t told me, or if I hadn’t thought to ask who he had actually seen?
Nurse practitioners and advanced nurse practitioners have been caring for patients for many years, but they have nursing degrees and years of practical experience. More pertinently, the “nurse” part of their title makes it clear that they are not doctors.
The same cannot be said of medical associates.
While PAs may be good at assessing and treating routine problems, they do not prescribe or order certain diagnostic tests, such as X-rays. They are currently not regulated and must always work under the supervision of a senior physician.
NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) guidelines clearly state that medical professionals should introduce themselves by giving their name and profession, but this rarely happens.
If you want to be sure that the person you are speaking to is a doctor, my advice is to ask them directly. If you have specifically asked to see a doctor and it turns out that you have not been given an appointment with one, you have every right to make a complaint.
Transparency in medicine is vital. You have the right to know how qualified the person you tell your problems to is.
Stay away from your ex
After months of speculation, it’s now official that Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck have split.
After months of speculation, it’s now official that Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck have split. Once again.
But why risk getting back together with someone (JLo and Affleck first got engaged in 2002) when it all ended so badly before?
For some people, self-sabotage is a big factor. They know they’re not right for each other, and perversely, that’s the appeal.
For others, it’s because there’s something comforting about familiarity. There may even be something intoxicating about being with someone who already knows you.
Sure, the first moments of love, excitement, and enthusiasm are wonderful, but there’s something to be said about the perceived security of a partner who already “gets” you.
But getting back together with an ex is often a sign that we’ve had a hard time connecting with someone else, so we try to reconnect with an old flame rather than face life alone.
Yes, sometimes people get it to work the second time, but most of the time they’re just repeating the mistakes they made before.
Ralf Schumacher’s ex-wife has broken her silence after he came out as gay, saying she “feels used” and has “wasted her best years” being with him.
When we hear about men who have married a woman and then come out of the closet, we are supposed to applaud them and call them “brave” for being so “honest.”
We rarely think about the woman left behind, who may be left wondering if the entire relationship was a ruse, a lie to hide her true sexuality.
I say this as a gay man, but I don’t think it’s brave to get married.
A woman and then, years later, you finally reveal your sexuality. I understand that it can be difficult to accept being gay, but don’t drag others into your inner turmoil. Don’t ruin someone else’s life because you don’t have the courage to come out yet.
I once had neighbours who were a couple for almost 60 years before they died at 90. They lived together and for decades pretended to be brothers, because it was illegal to be gay at the time. One was a surgeon and when an operating room nurse discovered he was gay, he was blackmailed until he eventually resigned, leaving his career in tatters. But he and his partner maintained a loving and loyal relationship throughout their lives. adult lives, despite having endured crushing stigma and prejudice for much of that time.
Those two men were brave.
The new Alzheimer’s drug lecanemab will not be prescribed by the NHS because the benefits are too small to justify the huge cost. But people are desperate and
I hate the idea of families going into debt to pay for this medicine privately.
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