Tag Archives: Physician assistant

MD and PA Students Aren’t Buying The Scope Creep Fight

Share

Why are the AMA and the AAPA Fighting?

PA2 Olivia Quinby, PA2 Raginya Handoo, PA2 Julie Vuong, and M4 Katie Higham-Kessler dig into the intense debate between the American Medical Association (“Scope creep will destroy everything!”) and the American Association of Physician Assistants (“WTF we’re just trying to fill the gaps, bro!”) regarding ‘scope creep.’ They discuss arguments from both sides about non-physician practice rights and the impacts on healthcare quality and access. And then there’s this question: should this rivalry break out into the patients’ view, what will it mean for their trust in a system many already find untrustworthy?

AMA on “Scope Creep”: https://www.ama-assn.org/practice-management/scope-practice/advocacy-action-fighting-scope-creep AAPA Response to the AMA: https://www.aapa.org/download/135695/

Meanwhile, listener Olivia, a hopeful PA student herself and fearing that she missed the mark this year, seeks advice on strengthening her application while she waits to hear back from her schools. The hosts provide personal insights and practical tips on standing out in PA school applications, focusing on experiences, recommendation letters, and writing skills. We’ve all been there, Olivia–hang tight!

We Want to Hear From You: YOUR VOICE MATTERS!

We welcome your feedback, listener questions, and shower thoughts. Do you agree or disagree with something we said today? Did you hear something really helpful? Can we answer a question for you? Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to? Let us know at https://theshortcoat.com/tellus and we’ll put your message in a future episode. Or email theshortcoats@gmail.com.

We want to know more about you: Take the Listener Survey

Continue reading MD and PA Students Aren’t Buying The Scope Creep Fight

Physician Assistants Week 2024!

Share

Sign up for the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine Professional and Graduate School Virtual Conference!

Compared to MDs, the PA profession offers flexible employment and a (relatively) relaxed path to a healthcare career.

Dave teams up with PA2s Noah Vasquez, Olivia Quinby, and Anna Cole, and PA1 Chloe Kepros to celebrate PA Week 2024! The crew looks at the unique challenges and experiences of being a physician assistant student, like why they chose the profession, the contrasts between themselves and their MD-student colleagues, the value of diverse educational backgrounds, the clinical experiences they’ve gathered along the way, the lessons they’re learning watching people in other healthcare roles, and how their different pre-PA work experiences shape their perspectives and skills. Plus, without the additional hoops physicians must jump through (eg., their match process, residency education, and state licensing), PAs enjoy a flexibility of employment that’s unmatched in the MD world.

We Want to Hear From You: YOUR VOICE MATTERS!

We welcome your feedback, listener questions, and shower thoughts. Do you agree or disagree with something we said today? Did you hear something really helpful? Can we answer a question for you? Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to? Let us know at https://theshortcoat.com/tellus and we’ll put your message in a future episode. Or email theshortcoats@gmail.com.

We want to know more about you: Take the Listener Survey

Continue reading Physician Assistants Week 2024!

Hot Takes: Med School Edition (Part 1?) (Recess Rehash)

Share

[It’s winter break for us here at the University of Iowa, so we’re taking a break. Our next new episode will be out January 18, 2024. In the meantime, enjoy this rerun!]

These might be very bad ideas…but we’ll talk about them anyway.

  • Riley leads a discussion with Jeff, Levi, and Katie of unpopular opinions about medicine and medical education.
  • Anki sucks! Gap years should be mandatory! All clerkships should be optional! 8th graders should review scientific papers!
  • We don’t know about you, listeners, but the co-hosts enjoyed this discussion so much you can look for a part 2 in December!

We Want to Hear From You: YOUR VOICE MATTERS!

No matter where you fall on any spectrum, we want your thoughts on our show.  Do you agree or disagree with something we said today?  Did you hear something really helpful?  Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to?  We’ll be sure your ideas are heard by all–leave a message at 347-SHORTCT (347-746-7828) and we’ll put your message in a future episode (use *67 to be an “Unknown caller”).

We want to know more about you: Take the Listener Survey

Continue reading Hot Takes: Med School Edition (Part 1?) (Recess Rehash)

Physician Assistants: From Clinic to O.R., Partners in Health

Share

[Content warning: this episode contains discussions interprofessional trust and understanding that people who complain about mid-level creep will find disturbing. Listener discretion is advised.]

Partners in Health

Physician Associate (formerly Physician Assistant) students learn the preclinical curriculum right along side their Doctor of Medicine colleagues here at Iowa. Of course, that means they learn the same things, but also the level of trust and mutual understanding between the two professions is that much more explicit. October 6 to 12 is Physician Associates Week, and PA1 producer Noah Vasquez rounded up some classmates–Olivia Quinby, Emily Sarvis, and Noah Herkert–to talk about how they chose their future profession, what they’re learning, and what their plans are after they graduate.

We Want to Hear From You: YOUR VOICE MATTERS!

No matter where you fall on any spectrum, we want your thoughts on our show.  Do you agree or disagree with something we said today?  Did you hear something really helpful?  Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to?  We’ll be sure your ideas are heard by all–leave a message at 347-SHORTCT (347-746-7828) and we’ll put your message in a future episode (use *67 to be an “Unknown caller”).

We want to know more about you: Take the Listener Survey

We do more things on…

Continue reading Physician Assistants: From Clinic to O.R., Partners in Health

Mothers Deserve Better

Share

[Content warning: this episode contains discussions of maternal mortality.]

Maternal mortality doubled in the 21st Century.

Motherhood is a revered institution in many cultures, but in the good old US of A there’s one area where mothers are being failed: medicine. Maternal mortality continues to increase to alarming levels, especially among people of color. We explore our thoughts on why, and what doctors can do in an environment in which financial profit is a prime motivator for health systems, rural areas are losing OBs, and nurse staffing levels are too low. Plus, we hear from some influencers with their health advice in a game of unnecessary censorship.

We Want to Hear From You: YOUR VOICE MATTERS!

No matter where you fall on any spectrum, we want your thoughts on our show.  Do you agree or disagree with something we said today?  Did you hear something really helpful?  Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to?  We’ll be sure your ideas are heard by all–leave a message at 347-SHORTCT (347-746-7828) and we’ll put your message in a future episode (use *67 to be an “Unknown caller”). We want to know more about you: Take the Listener Survey We do more things on…

Continue reading Mothers Deserve Better

Hot Takes: Med School Edition (Part 1?)

Share

These might be very bad ideas…but we’ll talk about them anyway.

  • Riley leads a discussion with Jeff, Levi, and Katie of unpopular opinions about medicine and medical education.
  • Anki sucks! Gap years should be mandatory! All clerkships should be optional! 8th graders should review scientific papers!
  • We don’t know about you, listeners, but the co-hosts enjoyed this discussion so much you can look for a part 2 in December!

We Want to Hear From You: YOUR VOICE MATTERS!

No matter where you fall on any spectrum, we want your thoughts on our show.  Do you agree or disagree with something we said today?  Did you hear something really helpful?  Are we delivering a podcast you want to keep listening to?  We’ll be sure your ideas are heard by all–leave a message at 347-SHORTCT (347-746-7828) and we’ll put your message in a future episode (use *67 to be an “Unknown caller”).

We want to know more about you: Take the Listener Survey

Continue reading Hot Takes: Med School Edition (Part 1?)

Physician Assistant Week!

Share

A relatively new partner in medicine, the Physician Assistant has become vital to team-based healthcare

TL;DR

  • The Physician Assistant can do most things an MD can do, aside from prescribing certain kinds drugs, and they don’t usually practice independently.
  • Iowa’s interesting because PA students train with MD students during their didactics. This close contact means that trust is established early between the two professions.
  • PAs must amass so many hours of clinical activity before they enter school that they start with MUCH more experience than MDs usually do.

Today’s episode is sponsored by Panacea Financial, a division of Primis, Member FDIC. Check out their PRN Personal Loans to help cover board exams or application costs, with decisions in as little as 24 hours and great interest rates!

It’s PA Week across this great land, and to celebrate we’ve got physician assistant students on the mic. PA2s Liz Patton and Chris Ball join M2s Rick Gardner and Brianna Wright to talk about their relatively young profession. Why did they choose to pursue a career as a physician assistant? What do PAs actually do, and how is it different from the jobs of other healthcare pros? What’s the training like? Let’s dive in!

We Want to Hear From You

How’d we do on this week’s show? Did we miss anything in our conversation? Did we anger you? Did we make you smile? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime  or email theshortcoats@gmail.com.  It’s always a pleasure to hear from you!

Continue reading Physician Assistant Week!

On Top or Down Low: The Status Hierarchies in Medicine ft. Tania Jenkins, PhD

Share

What you should know about the super hierarchical world of medicine

Have you ever wondered what the world of medicine would look like to an ethnographer? To University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Professor Tania Jenkins, perhaps it looks like a ladder of status, from the lowly med student to the exalted attending (and even higher). For her book Doctors’ Orders: The Making of Status Hierarchies in an Elite Profession, Professor Jenkins spent years looking at the construction and consequences of those distinctions for doctors before, during, and after their training, especially among American, international, and osteopathic residents in two US hospitals.

Cohosts Emma Barr (M3), Bryn Myers (M2), and Greta Becker (M2) discuss with Dr. Jenkins why status hierarchies seem so important in medicine, what they accomplish and inhibit, and why they may be short-changing the system, the practitioners, and the patients.

Dr. Jenkins also helps us answer a question from “Glisten Rumpybottom” about the future of medicine as the scope of practice for mid-level practitioners like nurse practitioners and PAs continues to expand. Is this a safety issue or a turf war?

We Want to Hear From You

How’d we do on this week’s show? Did we miss anything in our conversation? Did we anger you? Did we make you smile? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime  or email theshortcoats@gmail.com.  It’s always a pleasure to hear from you!

Holding out for your dream school

Share

Brandon Bacalzo (in back), Jessica De Haan (front) and others visit a giant inflatable colon. As one does.

Emotions are difficult to ignore.  Especially when those emotions are telling us to ACT NOW!  That’s what listener Jordan from Texas is fighting as he happily gets an acceptance from his backup, with no word from his dream school.  Should he commit now?  Should he sit tight?  Co-hosts Brandon Bacalzo, Michael Gardeau, Jessica De Haan, and Cody West (All M1s) share their experiences and advice for Jordan.

And Dave continues his quest to learn all he can about his med student friends with a game of Would You Rather.


Buy Our Merch and Give At The Same Time

You care about others, or you wouldn’t be into this medicine thing. Our #merchforgood program lets you to give to our charity of the semester and get something for yourself at the same time!

This Week in Medical News

What if transplant patients could introduce their immune systems to a friend who broadened its horizons and eliminated the need for anti-rejection meds?  The National Association for the Preservation of Skin Art will help remove and preserve your tattoos after you die.  And the first observed case of bladder fermentation syndrome.

We Want to Hear From You

How’s med school application season going for you?  Did you experience any interview trail weirdness you want to share? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime or email theshortcoats@gmail.com.  We love all kinds of messages!

Continue reading Holding out for your dream school

Get to Know the Nurse, Save Yourself from Grief

Share

Medicine is a team sport

mad libs photo
Writing your residency application personal statement is easy! Photo by jenna.kaminsky

A cliche, but true.  Because without the nurses (and other people) doing their jobs to help the doctor, the doctor can’t do nuthin’–no IVs, no regular BP checks, no comfortable patients, no monitoring while they’re home sleeping, no nothing.  Listener Amber stops by to ask what med students learn about nurses and how to work with them. M4s Hillary O’Brien and Kylie Miller and new M1 co-hosts Jessica De Haan and Greta Becker are happy to help, because nurses are the spine and a big portion of the central nervous system of medicine.  And Fifi Trixiebell returns, craving med school war stories.  Also, Hillary and Kylie discuss the residency personal statements they wrote and where they sought help.


Buy Our Merch and Give At The Same Time

You care about others, or you wouldn’t be into this medicine thing. Our #merchforgood program lets you to give to our charity of the semester and get something for yourself at the same time!

We Want to Hear From You

Do you have war stories to share? Call us at 347-SHORTCT anytime to tell us.  We’ll play them for Fifi (and whoever else is listening).

Continue reading Get to Know the Nurse, Save Yourself from Grief