The Burmese medic: an international physician assistant analogue

Although there have been recent democratic reforms in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), for nearly 60 years there has been a consistent history of human rights violations as part of a civil war waged by the Myanmar military, known as the Tatmadaw. Approximately 3,500 villages have been destroyed by the Tatmadaw during the half-century of civil war. Oppression against minority groups, including the Karen, Karenni, Kachin, Mon, Shan, Chin, and Muslims has adversely affected the health outcomes of these vulnerable populations. Since the mid 1990s, medics have been providing care for the ethnic minorities who were displaced from their homes by the civil war and who live in the jungles of eastern Burma as well as in the refugee camps and towns in the border areas of Thailand. This article will look at how these medics are providing care similar to that provided by physician assistants in the United States.