I've always enjoyed watching the popular TV quiz show JEOPARDY! and matching my recall of trivia to that of the contestants. I whoop with glee when the category is Medicine and audibly groan when it is State Capitals. Since 1984, Alex Trebek has hosted more than 6,000 episodes, and most of us are familiar with the show's unique format in which contestants are presented with answers from a specific category and must phrase their responses in question form.
On July 1, 2011, I will retire as editor in chief of JAAPA, making this my last editorial. Feeling that I wanted to mix my final thoughts about our profession with a slight touch of my inner goofball, I decided to use the JEOPARDY! format to say what's on my mind. What better way to begin than to explore what some have called us, and what we have debated calling ourselves.
Answer: a "physician's assistant"
Question: What is a future use of the IBM supercomputer? Fresh from a JEOPARDY! victory, the IBM supercomputer, Watson, is about to become a sidekick for future physicians.1
IBM has teamed up with Nuance Healthcare, with its speech-recognition and documentation expertise, Columbia University, and the University of Maryland to build a medical Watson that is fine-tuned to address the queries of doctors, with a goal of enhancing clinical decision making. Of course, given that we treat patients and not computer chips, there's no way that a computer can match the full capabilities of the human medical workforce. For all of you PAs out there who wonder about the power of an apostrophe, "physician's assistant" has taken on a surprising and troubling robotic meaning.
Answer: physician associate
Question: What should we call ourselves instead of physician assistant? The name-change tug-of-war has been going on for as long as I can remember and, quite frankly, I think we should just give up the tussle. We have spent almost 40 years establishing ourselves as crucial and well-respected health care professionals in an ever-changing health care landscape. Changing our name now is not going to make a difference to the vast majority of PAs working on the front lines, nor to their patients. In fact, I think it would just make things more confusing. We should be spending our energy instead on telling other health care providers and patients about what we do, not bickering about what title to put on our name tag. I'd also rather see some of that energy spent on clarifying to patients that we are not physicians and should not be called that, even when they affectionately refer to us as Doc.
Answer: AAPA
Question: What is our important national professional organization? The American Academy of Physician Assistants' primary goals are to advance the profession and be the leader in providing support and advocacy for PAs. As professionals, we need to learn about what the AAPA does for us individually and for our profession collectively. You are able to practice as a PA where you do and as you do in part because of the hard work the Academy has done and continues to do on your behalf.
Answer: patient advocates
Question: What do PAs need to be in order to be professionally satisfied? All the medical knowledge that we cram into our brains is really of little use if we forget that we need to steadfastly nurture our special connection with our patients. We are their primary advocates, and it is our relationship with them that creates a foundation—for their healing and for our professional fulfillment.
Answer: bully pulpit
Question: What is a position of authority or public visibility that provides the holder with an opportunity to speak out on any matter? I have enjoyed being in the bully pulpit for 8 years and have used that position to speak out on a wide variety of topics. Even though some of my commentary stirred up controversy, I am very grateful that JAAPA provided me with the platform to speak to my colleagues about what was on my mind and what I believed would be of interest to them.
Answer: ooof!
Question: What is the sound I am making more often these days when getting up off the sofa? There is an assortment of ways to know when it's time to retire. Saying "ooof" a lot when rising from a sitting position is one of them. Another is still feeling passionate about being a PA and about communicating with PAs but knowing that it's time to step aside. Without a doubt, though, my motto will continue to be, "Once a PA, always a PA."
Answer: Tanya Gregory, the JAAPA editorial board, and Haymarket Media.
Question: Who do I say a resounding "thank you" to for all of the help and support I have received during the past 8 years?
Answer: Reamer Bushardt!
Question: Who is JAAPA's new, very enthusiastic, and very talented editor in chief? JAAPA
Sarah Zarbock is the editor in chief of JAAPA.
REFERENCE
1. Paging Dr. Watson. Al Jeopardy! Soon to be physician's assistant. Singularity Hub Web site. http://singularityhub.com/2011/03/09/paging-dr-watson-ai-jeopardy-champion-could-become-physicians-assistant. Accessed May 9, 2011.