Physician assistants (pas) are employed in physician offices throughout the united states. although the pa provides direct patient care, he or she is under the supervision of a licensed physician. duties include taking patients' medical histories, performing physical examinations, ordering diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, providing follow-up care, and teaching and counseling patients. in most sates, pas may write prescriptions. the pa may be the only health care practioner a patient sees during his or her visit to the physician office. therefore, patients often refer to a pa as "the doctor." ned, a pa for five years, says the patients he sees often address him as "doctor". similarly, marie, a long-time employee of a physician in private practice, is often called "the doctor's nurse." although marie has never had the training necessary to become a certified medical assistant or a registered nurse, she sometimes refers to herself as the "office nurse." what legal and ethical considerations are evident in these situations