The long battle over who should be called 'Doctor'

iStock.com/Sandi Smolker

By Emma Wilkinson

Recent debate in the UK over the roles of both physician associates and doctors-in-training has brought the issue of job titles in healthcare into sharp focus.

The difference between “associate” and “assistant,” or “junior doctor” and “resident,” may, to the public, appear secondary to the job of caring for patients. Yet healthcare titles are meant to reflect the specific responsibilities and skills that go with that role, come with expectations from colleagues and patients and can impact authority and trust.

Heated debates over physician associate titles in the UK have also incorporated concerns about scope of practice, public understanding and professional boundaries.

When the PA role was introduced to the UK more than 20 years ago, it was originally called physician assistant. The name was changed in 2013 in a move backed by the government to improve regulation of the role.

The primary purpose of a title should be to make clear to patients which healthcare team member they are interacting with