The Sinister Reason They Don’t Call Us Doctors Anymore.
Let’s be clear: physicians are diminished by the word provider. Language matters in communication; using a term that creates interchangeability between members of a health care team is calculated to make them fungible. Provider is a generic term that blurs the lines between clinicians. When everyone is a provider, how does one distinguish between a doctor with years of training and board certification and a newly graduated physician’s assistant? That question presupposes the importance of education and credentials, which matter in many fields, but most particularly in medicine.
