I’m still thinking about this. Paramedic practitioner tells James O'Brien: 🔸It doesn’t matter that he hasn’t studied medicine 🔸He’s better than doctors because he looks up from his screen 🔸He’s essentially done medicine vocationally as he was questioned ‘for weeks’ ☠️ ☠️ ☠️

I’m so sick of the disrespect from HCPs, enabled by colleges and regulators, of the training doctors do Why train as a paramedic if you wanted to work in GP? PAs are only physical manifestation of this sentiment and why it’s gone so far, but we have other problems.

@mrjamesob Astounding level of arrogance. If I decided today that I wanted to be a paramedic I would, very rightly, have to apply to and complete the rigorous training that all paramedics undertake. He has not studied medicine. If he wants to be a dr then go to med school.

@mrjamesob I’m actually aghast at this conversation

@mrjamesob Shocking that he had the balls to say that on radio

@mrjamesob “If they’re not happy with the diagnosis at the end they can ask to see a doctor”… alas… the very reason they are there in the first place is because they are not equipped to know the diagnosis

@mrjamesob Time and time again these practitioners confuse being liked with being competent. Unfortunately that confusion naturally spills over to patients, who of course aren’t equipped to distinguish niceness from competence.

@mrjamesob The kicker is when James says, "I'd rather have a good doctor than a good paramedic practitioner" - the guy responds glibly with "err I don't think so". Imagine being a patient in A&E trying to challenge this? How did a tricksy 2yr course ever gain so much reverence?!

@mrjamesob If you start from the premise that the patient has a chest infection, of course it doesn't matter that you're not a doctor. You already have the diagnosis. Try starting from the premise that the patient has shortness of breath and a cough. Suddenly it matters.

@mrjamesob this is wild. The key point being missed isn't that simple chest infections are diagnosable by non-doctors. It's the absurd amount of knowledge needed to confirm it is simply a low level chest infection, and not something much worse

@mrjamesob What is this obsession with every other HCP to replace/ work as a GP? How has it become so easy to scope creep a doctor. If you want to be a GP, go to medical school.