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| Watching Baseball and Thinking About NPs and PAs |
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by David Mittman, PA - June 17, 2011
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 Provided by Clinician 1
I was watching the Mets game on Saturday night. I am a Mets fanatic.
One of the opposing teams batters swung around hard and their left hand had some acute pain. The trainers ran out to check as they always do. In front of millions of fans watching him, the trainer examined his patient. You saw him extend the hand, ask the batter to squeeze his hand and then an examination ensued with the trainer palpating the batters hand over a big fat huge batting glove. At that second, I had no faith in that trainer. Unfair? Without a doubt, but that is what I felt. He very well could be the best trainer in the world but I thought to myself, “What a joke! How can you palpate over a huge, padded batting glove? Fairly or not, I figured he was doing it for the crowd because I would have made anyone take off a glove to examine their hand.
Then the thought then hit me..............When people watch PAs or NPs on TV do they judge what we know from the evidence they see? Using myself as a barometer, I would have to say yes. I know it’s “Hollywood”, but we don’t have much of a history to stand on. Is it fair of me to ask people to meet a few of us before they judge how good we are? Maybe yes or maybe no, but I know it won’t happen. I do know all it takes is one bad NP or PA to convince someone we are only “midlevel”, that we miss things, that we don’t care. While there have been hundreds of physicians on TV shows, there have been few NPs or PAs. One PA and also another NP were on an episode of Law and Order. The PA was a murderer. The most famous PA currently on TV is Divya on “Royal Pains” and of course the most famous PA ever; Jeanie Boulet the PA on “ER”. As far as NPs go, there was also an NP who was on ER for a while and all I remember about her was that she ran a clinic and was hard to get along with. In all cases, none impressed me, none was a role model I would want our students to use. None were doing more than what the average NP or PA did, most did less. Counter that with TV physicians; Marcus Welby was the best family doc in the world. Dr. House is unusually brilliant at diagnosing obscure illnesses while Ben Casey was hardly ever wrong and when he was, his professors taught him well. And covered his butt. Remember Dr. Zorba? Even the brand new doc on Northern Exposure had his ups and downs but they were mostly ups. And the PA on ER Jeanie Boulet, she contracted AIDS and we really never saw her treating patients much. That was the medical teaching moment we let pass. We need to realize when we have an NP or PA on television, especially today, it will be a teaching moment. Many will learn about us through them and the physician attitudes towards them. We all need to watch and write in. We need to praise and point things out. We need to let them know we care and we are watching. It is time we realize it is not “just Hollywood” for us. If something bad happens on a show, let it be to a doc, or a PT, or a pharmacist.
After all people make up their minds the first time they meet us.
I did from the baseball trainer.
Dave has been a PA, and later NP, leader for thirty years. He strongly believes that NPs and PAs must work together to insure a better future for both professions. Most recently Dave has been busy launching another dream; Clinician 1, the first internet community for PAs and NPs. In October 2008, Dave was honored by the New Jersey State society of PAs with its “Lifetime Achievement Award”.
The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.
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| Lloyd |
on 27 Jun 2011 at 3:00 pm |
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Mr. Mittman,
As a certified athetic trainer x 25 years and a certified physician assistant x 13 years, I was disappointed to read this article and your assessment of the athletic trainer on the field. As indicated by Margaret's post, your use of the title of "trainer" was incorrect. I would hope you would follow Margaret's lead and educate yourself by visiting the NATA website for more information. The athletic trainer's on field assessment of the injury was an initial triage, not a full assessment. I am sure if you would have seen the examination in the dugout or clubhouse after the inning, it would have involved a full orthopaedic hand evaluation complete with xrays. An on field assessment of an acute athetic injury does not necessarily involve a full assessment, but rather a quick triage to see if the athlete can continue or if he/she needs to be removed from competition for further assessment. The glove did not have to be removed for this assessment. The athetic trainer was performing an initial triage, not a full examination. As an experienced medical provider, the athletic trainer was performing his duties based upon his experience, training, and knowledge base of the athlete.
You state in closing, "After all people make up their minds the first time they meet us. I did from the baseball trainer." I only wish you would have actually met the athletic trainerand had a conversation instead of judging him based upon the small window you saw him on TV. I think he could have educated you as you wish midlevels could educate the public. |
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| PA student/Athletic Trainer |
on 21 Jun 2011 at 4:39 pm |
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Mr. Mittman,
I appreciated your article and thought it was an interesting point about PA's on TV. Unfortunately it was overshadowed by the incorrect use of the name "trainer." Although referred to as trainers on TV, certified athletic trainers are health care providers who prevent, diagnose, treat, and rehabilitate injuries in an active patient population. National Athletic Training Association’s definition “Athletic training encompasses the prevention, diagnosis, and intervention of emergency, acute, and chronic medical conditions involving impairment, functional limitations, and disabilities.” They work at high schools, colleges, professional sports, and industrial/hospital settings. After attending an accredited undergraduate or graduate program, they must pass a national certification exam and are licensed/certified in most states. They work directly with physicians, PAs and NPs. Using the word "trainer" can be considered derogatory, since anyone could be called a trainer, for example, personal trainers who are not health care providers. This hits a particular nerve since PAs are frequently called physician's assistant, or medical assistants. I realize the athletic trainer for the Mets' assessment may not have represented the best care, it was a time sensitive assessment. Nonetheless, please consider using the correct terminology in the future. For more information:
http://www.nata.org/athletic-training |
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| Margaaret (San Antonio, TX) |
on 21 Jun 2011 at 3:02 pm |
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| Enjoyed reading your observations. I think one of my favorite episodes of the George Lopez show is where he distinguishes the difference between an RN and NP by gesturing with squared off shoulders and lifting his chin and saying, "RN, NP". I could have hugged him for giving us the international thumbs up. |
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