The RCP has written to the General Medical Council (GMC) to raise concerns about the terminology used in its communications and consultations relating to physician assistants (PAs).
The RCP has urged the GMC to review the language used across its communications and consultation materials, following the continued use of collective terms such as ‘medical professionals’.
In a letter from RCP president Professor Mumtaz Patel, the RCP warns that this terminology risks creating unnecessary confusion for patients and the public by blurring important distinctions between doctors, PAs and physician assistants in anaesthesia (PAAs). The RCP has raised this issue with the GMC previously. We are therefore disappointed that this terminology continues to appear, including in a recently published consultation on updated guidance for the care and treatment of children and young people.
The letter from the RCP emphasises that doctors, PAs and PAAs all play valued roles in multidisciplinary teams, but they are distinct professions with different education, training, responsibilities and scopes of practice. Clear and consistent terminology is particularly important at a time of significant public debate about professional roles, supervision and scope of practice.
Professor Mumtaz Patel, RCP president, said:
‘Patients must be able to understand who is providing their care and the role that each professional plays. Doctors, physician assistants and physician assistants in anaesthesia are distinct professions, and the language used by their regulator should make those distinctions clear rather than blur them.
‘This is about public understanding and trust. We are asking the GMC to review its communications and consultations and to use language that properly reflects the differences between the professions it regulates.’
The RCP has asked the GMC to use ‘registrants’ where a collective description is necessary, as this is less likely to cause confusion than ‘medical professionals’.