Last Updated on: 3rd August 2023, 12:34 am

Becoming a Licensed Physician Assistant: The Challenges Ahead

Introduction

Realizing the goal of becoming a licensed Physician Assistant takes a great deal of time and a significant financial investment. Your license stands as acknowledgment that your skills and abilities have earned you the right to be a healthcare provider. Not everyone who earns this right can keep it, however. Defending your Physician Assistant’s license can sometimes be nearly as difficult as earning it was.

The Consequences of Professional Misconduct

All that it takes to lose your license is one simple claim of professional misconduct. It doesn’t matter if the allegation is true or not; the accusation alone can destroy your career if you fail to mount a strong defense of your name and reputation. Don’t delay, seek competent legal help the moment your livelihood needs defending. Only experienced attorneys understand these issues and only professionals can provide you with adequate protection.

Challenges in the Healthcare Industry

A recent survey lists the healthcare industry as the most stressful and complaint-causing profession. Half of all healthcare workers report that their workloads are increasing year to year. Many in the industry plan to change professions in the near future. With so much difficulty surrounding the profession, it’s clear that becoming a licensed Physician Assistant is more of a calling than just another job. This makes possibly losing your career over a simple mistake or false accusation all the more tragic.

Vulnerabilities and Legal Accusations

Given the increasing responsibilities that Physician Assistants are undertaking, their interaction with patients is also increasing. The majority of these interactions go off without a hitch; it’s that 1 in 1000 event that can have devastating consequences. Vulnerable patients are subject to misunderstand their treatment or to get upset with their medical outcomes. When the time to lay blame comes around, the Physician Assistant often finds themselves the target of an aggressive attorney’s campaign.

Charges Leading to License Loss

In New Jersey, several charges are enough to put a Physician Assistant on the road to losing their license. These charges include but are not limited to:

• Accusations of willful negligence
• Commission of medical malpractice
• Performance of duties while under the influence of drugs or alcohol
• Medical billing improprieties
• Accusations of carrying out unnecessary medical procedures

In some cases, the charge alone is enough to warrant the loss of your license. The critical nature of the healthcare industry, along with a lack of understanding of the importance of the role that Physician Assistants play, means that innocent people can and do lose their licenses. Unfounded allegations shouldn’t cause the loss of a career, and a competent attorney can ensure that they don’t.

Scrutiny and Lifelong Impact

Unlike most jobs, the Physician Assistant’s career and livelihood are always under scrutiny. One brush with the law can lead to license suspension or revocation. Even if no criminal conviction takes place, a simple interaction with law enforcement can lead to other areas of your life being investigated. These areas can include:

• Known associates
• Social media accounts
• Financial dealings
• Child support arrears
• Allegations of sexual abuse or misconduct
• Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol

Sources of inquiry and investigation into the lives of Physician Assistants have virtually no boundaries. Unlike a criminal matter where the overwhelming burden of proof is on the accuser, Physician Assistants often find themselves in the position of having to offer an affirmative defense in the face of a governing body that need not be overly concerned with what might be considered fair to the accused.

Seeking Legal Help

Perhaps the most important advice that a Physician Assistant can take is to consult an attorney immediately after receiving any form of disciplinary communication from the State Board of Medical Examiners. It can be tempting to speak freely with investigators, especially if you feel that you have nothing to hide. This can be a very serious mistake. Investigators have no obligation to protect your interests and will certainly turn over any incriminating evidence against you that they uncover. In some cases, a Physician Assistant can lose their license based on information which is completely unrelated to the initial cause of investigation.

The Need for Legal Representation

Recent data indicates that as many as 40% of all medical lawsuits are deemed to be frivolous. As much as we might like to believe in the good nature of others, the reality is that sometimes people make false and or baseless accusations. Whatever the motivation of the accuser, these charges must be investigated and can be disastrous for the Physician Assistant who lacks proper legal representation.

Regulating Physician Assistants in New Jersey

In New Jersey, Physician Assistants are regulated by the Physician Assistant Advisory Committee of the State Board of Medical Examiners. This powerful board oversees licensing and disciplinary actions relating to the job of Physician Assistant. The rules and regulations that govern Physician Assistants are necessarily complex; in the case of disciplinary action having an attorney can mean the difference between presenting your case successfully or losing your license.

Conclusion

If you’ve already had your license suspended or revoked, there may still be a chance for you to get it back. Defending your name and reputation against serious charges is a job that is definitely best left to the experts. Even if you decide against getting legal help, schedule a consultation and learn your options from an attorney who is familiar with the legal issues affecting you.

The Journey to Becoming a Physician Assistant

The Formal Complaint Process

Becoming a Physician Assistant

Four years obtaining a Bachelor’s Degree, two years in a Master’s Degree Physician Assistant training program, several more years working rotations, sitting for a state licensure exam, and spending tens of thousands of dollars on education is what’s required to become a physician’s assistant. It’s not the type of career path a person chooses just because. It’s one that takes time, dedication, and passion. That’s why it’s a well-paying career, and that’s why losing a physician assistant’s license is something no one in the career field wants to experience.

Reasons for Formal Complaints

Anytime someone makes an allegation a physician’s assistant is behaving in a manner unbecoming of someone in the field, the PA risks his or her license. Even if the charge is untrue, a person’s reputation, job, and future are put on the line because someone else has decided they need their license investigated. Formal complaints against a physician assistant aren’t a new concept, and they’ve resulted in revoked licenses on several occasions. While it’s true some PA’s are guilty of what they’re being investigated for, not everyone has done anything wrong. New Jersey law specifies all physician’s assistants go through a formal investigation process when a formal complaint is launched.

Protecting the Professional License

During this period, investigators work to find evidence to substantiate the claims made against the assistant. If evidence proves the PA is guilty of misconduct of any type, he or she faces the loss of his or her license. It’s a devastating time for any PA, and it’s also the time they need an experienced, knowledgeable attorney more than ever. Anyone can file a formal complaint with the New Jersey Medical Board at any time for any of the following reasons:

• Alcoholism
• Drug use
• Prescription drug abuse
• Sexual misconduct
• Discrimination
• Negligence
• Improper billing
• Improper medical care

The healthcare industry is fast-paced and stressful, and mistakes happen. While the people who work in this industry are required to check and double-check for mistakes, sometimes they occur. Sometimes the physician’s assistant being investigated was unaware a mistake was made, didn’t realize something happened, or is completely innocent of all charges.

Consequences of Formal Complaints

When a formal complaint is filed against a physician assistant, the state board is required to provide notice to the person being investigated. Once that notice is received, it should go directly to the attorney representing the accused. A formal response to the complaint disputing the claims is filed, and the attorney and PA agree to work with the investigators on the case to provide all the pertinent information required to assist the investigation. This helps to expedite the process. When a PA attempts to do this without the help of an attorney, he or she puts his or her license in further danger. Too much information can be harmful, but not enough can be viewed as obstruction. Hiring an attorney to protect their professional license also protects their entire future. Even the investigation can turn patients away, cause a PA to lose the good reputation they worked so hard for so long to build, and even tarnish the reputation of the doctor whose office the PA works for.

The Importance of Legal Counsel

Not all complaints require immediate revocation of a professional license. Depending on the severity of the accusation, the physician assistant in question could face a professional citation and fines, suspension of his or her license, or revocation of the license. If the license is suspended, it can take months to have it reinstated so a physician assistant can go back to work, and it might take longer than that to find a new job if the office the PA worked for decides they no longer want to employ someone who has been reprimanded by the state board.

Mistakes happen, but seeking legal counsel as soon as a PA is notified a formal investigation is ongoing is what often saves professional licenses and the futures of the PA’s who carry them. Healthcare law is complex, and it’s not always easy to decipher by those who haven’t a law degree. Someone with experience can make these cases easier to deal with, and they can brighten the outcome.