Drawing pushback, PA name change signals NPPs’ leap into advanced practice
Effective Mar 19, 2026
Published Mar 23, 2026
Last Reviewed Mar 19, 2026
A burst of publicity around the nomenclature for PAs — physician associates, as these providers prefer, or physician assistants — is a minor but telling sign of the increase in their numbers and influence of non-physician providers. So is the pushback they’re getting in some quarters. But the state of health care in the U.S. suggests that PAs, as well as nurse practitioners (NP), will continue to advance.
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