In May, Oregon became the first state in the country to officially change the title of "physician assistant" to "physician associate."
The push to make the change was led by the Oregon Society of Physician Associates and followed in the footsteps of the 2021 American Academy of Physician Associates changing the PA title in its name to "physician associate." But six months after Oregon's decision, almost half (48%) of PAs reported feeling indifferent about a title change, according to Medscape's 2024 "Physician Assistant Career Satisfaction Report," published June 28.
The survey garnered responses from 2,007 physicians in more than 29 specialties from Nov. 1 to Dec. 20.
About 34% of PAs reported favoring the change, while 18% opposed it. In the 2023 report, 40% of PAs favored the title switch.
Only about 10% of PAs currently use the title of physician associate, according to the Medscape report.