[martythemaniak]

> On the other hand we have Anna Watson, a medical professional...

No, it is Basil Besh who is the medical professional. Anna Watson is a physician assistant. Basil Besh is a doctor. Part of having your doctor's license is being subject to an oversight board of your peers. As a patient you can complain to this board and if the doctor cannot prove that he has provided adequate care, he can lose his very expensive livelihood.

They key here is that he has to justify himself to his peers, ie doctors who would look at the patient records and his notes and judge whether he provided a standard of care by calling or not calling an ambulance, etc. Randos on the internet speculating about patients they know nothing about is PR, not medicine.

The way you will know whether this story is real or another one of the endless Telsa hate pieces is that this guy will lose his license if it is real.

[cowsandmilk]

Everything you state about doctors applies to PAs as well. Like most states, California has a PA board [0] and patients can complain to the board. Sure, a doctor has more responsibilities, but a PA is also a medical professional.

[0] https://www.pac.ca.gov

[adrr]

Anna is a physician assistant, she can literally do almost anything a doctor can do(prescribe drugs, diagnosis etc) and has almost as much training as a doctor.

[jrowley]

PAs can do a lot of the same things that physicians do, and are of vital importance but are distinct from physicians. For one, physicians in the US complete 4 years of medical school, then a residency, and then possibly a fellowship. On the other hand a PA is generally done in 3 years, total.

Additionally PAs can prescribe many drugs in most states, but the supervising physician is ultimately responsible for the patients care.

Finally there are numerous subspecialties that simply aren’t available to PAs.

[adrr]

I was just pointing out that physician assistant is a legitimate medical profession like nurses and doctors.

[TimTheTinker]

> almost as much training as a doctor.

A PA degree only requires 2 years of post-bachelor training. An MD requires 4 years of medical school and a minimum of 3 years in residency (most specialties require 4, but some require more — e.g. 7 years for neurosurgery, or even more for oral & maxillofacial surgery since that also requires a 2-year DDS and a 6-year residency).

So 2 years for PA vs. between 7 and 11 for MD.

[evgen]

And those additional 5-9 years are critical for accurately deciding if the amputation of a digit requires hospitalisation....

[seandougall]

It’s just a flesh wound! /obligatory

[RandallBrown]

Why don't you think physician assistants are medical professionals? They have a medical degree and are board certified.

They are different from physicians, but they're still medical professionals.

[ams6110]

Perhaps because they are not held to the same standards as an MD. PAs are typically employees in a clinic, hospital, or practice, and they work with limited autonomy under the supervision of MDs.

I'm not sure I'd say that PAs are not "professionals" but I would say that they are only in a broader sense of the word.

[Aeolun]

Yeah, I’m sure all the workers for whom that job is probably the only income they have will sabotage their future by filing a formal claim with the medical board. That’s going to be great for their continued employability.

[CaptainZapp]

Being a medical professional or a doctor does not per se make you an honest person. It also doesn't necessarily prevent you from doing incalculable harm for your own fun and profit.

Example?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Wakefield