Physician assistants could cure medical shortages
Nurse practitioners and physician assistants could be some of the help to solve the global healthcare industry staff shortage, according to an article in the Australian Journal of Rural Health.
It claims that if mobilised carefully, they could well be an essential resource in alleviating the severe shortage of medical staff in Australia and around the world.
Dr Teresa O’Connor’s study – ‘Extending Rural and Remote Medicine with a New Type of Health Worker: Physician Assistants’ – outlines who physician assistants are and what they do. She also pre-empts possible reservations about the quality of care physician assistants are able to provide by emphasising the rigorous training program they are all expected to undergo.
Physician assistants undergo two to three years of intensive training and, once experienced, are able to practice at a similar level to junior doctors. Trained within the medical model of care, they are licensed to practice medicine under medical supervision.
“Hospitals find that one physician assistant can substitute about 50%-75% of a doctor’s work while needing less time to train – hence making them a more cost-effective resource compared to the medical staff.,” says Dr O’Connor.
The physician assistants’ model was first used in the USA during the late 1960s to great success. Other countries which currently use the model include Canada, The Netherlands, Taiwan, and Britain.
“Medical workforce shortage is part of a worldwide phenomenon and the solution of increasing medical graduates and importing doctors will only leave other countries short,” says Dr O’Connor.
“Nurse practitioners are already playing a significant role in Australia. Physician assistants are another group which could play a significant role and they can be drawn from other careers without depleting the already short supply of nurses. With so much research demonstrating that physician assistants are not only able to provide quality care but have been accepted by their patients as well; their introduction to Australia may be one strategy to address the ongoing medical workforce shortage.”
