Physician Assistants And Nurse Practitioners May Be Australia's Solution To Its Healthcare Shortage

Main Category: Primary Care / General Practice
Also Included In: Nursing / Midwifery;  Public Health
Article Date: 30 Oct 2007 - 2:00 PDT

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Nurse practitioners and physician assistants could be some of the answers to the global healthcare industry staff shortage. If mobilized in a thoughtful way, they could well be an essential resource in alleviating the severe shortage of medical staff in Australia and around the world.

As researchers continue to work towards developing feasible solutions to ease global medical workforce shortage, a study published in Australian Journal of Rural Health by Wiley-Blackwell proposes innovative methods to increase healthcare workers need to be considered and suggests that the physician assistant model could be worth a shot.

In her study "Extending Rural and Remote Medicine with a New Type of Health Worker: Physician Assistants", Dr. Teresa M. O'Connor gives an outline of 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 emphasizing the rigorous training programme 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.

She adds, "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."

About Australian Journal of Rural Health

The Australian Journal of Rural Health is a multidisciplinary refereed journal, and since its inception in 1993 has contributed to the accumulation of knowledge of rural health in Australia. The Journal aims to establish a national and international reputation for the quality of its scholarly discourse and value to rural health professionals. In 1999 the Australian Journal of Rural Health became the official journal of the National Rural Health Alliance, which is the peak body for rural and remote health organizations in Australia. As well as its readers in Australia, the Journal is taken by subscribers in Canada, Japan, USA and the United Kingdom. Readership includes general practitioners, nurses, allied health professionals, pharmacists, health administrators, universities, rural health units and libraries.

About Wiley-Blackwell

Wiley-Blackwell was formed in February 2007 as a result of the acquisition of Blackwell Publishing Ltd. by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., and its merger with Wiley's Scientific, Technical, and Medical business. Together, the companies have created a global publishing business with deep strength in every major academic and professional field. Wiley-Blackwell publishes approximately 1,400 scholarly peer-reviewed journals and an extensive collection of books with global appeal. For more information on Wiley-Blackwell, please visit http://www.blackwellpublishing.com or http://interscience.wiley.com.

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