physician assistants(PA's)

[champ]

Any one heard anything about the status of this group of health care workers in ontario recently? I know the PA is not a new occupation, Its all over the USA, but in ontario it is and I wasnt sure if the whole program is some kinda political tool being used by the governemnt to try and reduce wait times in ER's and no real long term plan for PAs in the medical system. Im just looking into a plan B option. I heard the first class graduated from mac this past summer and are looking for jobs because the government has not put in place positions at hospitals for them etc. I get the impressin it may be have dim prospects but just because its soo new and has no governing body etc. So I was just wondering what other peoples take are of this whole thing. I expect some negative responses to be coming forward...

[bloh]

Any one heard anything about the status of this group of health care workers in ontario recently? I know the PA is not a new occupation, Its all over the USA, but in ontario it is and I wasnt sure if the whole program is some kinda political tool being used by the governemnt to try and reduce wait times in ER's and no real long term plan for PAs in the medical system. Im just looking into a plan B option. I heard the first class graduated from mac this past summer and are looking for jobs because the government has not put in place positions at hospitals for them etc. I get the impressin it may be have dim prospects but just because its soo new and has no governing body etc. So I was just wondering what other peoples take are of this whole thing. I expect some negative responses to be coming forward...

 

There's only 3 schools offering the program with very small class sizes to boot. I know that PAs are rampant in Manitoba and there was a movement to open it up widely in Ontario but I'm not sure what came of it.

 

edit: I think the biggest problem in getting PAs off the ground will be the associations that lobby for nurses and physicians because PAs have the potential in encroaching on both of those groups. One of the nursing associations back east has already issued a public statement that cautioned strongly against giving more autonomy to PAs.

[PAstudent]

Hi Bloh,

 

Most physician organizations are quite happy and excited about the introduction of PAs, including the OMA and the CMA. In Manitoba, PAs are members of the CPSM (and now in Alberta of the CPSA) and the accreditation body for PA programs in Canada is the CMA.

 

In fact, the CMA and OMA have been defending PAs: http://prismadmin.cma.ca/index.php?ci_id=10043509&la_id=1

 

 

Some quotes with sources:

 

"CMA President Brian Day, an orthopedic surgeon, notes that many PAs specialize in fields such as orthopedics and obstetrics. "In the US this is so well organized there is an association for PAs who specialize in orthopedic surgery," he said. "They are particularly valuable in terms of follow-up care."

 

He said the CMA and Canadian Orthopaedic Association are already collaborating on the PA issue, and noted that the CMA passed a resolution calling for expanded use of PAs in the civilian setting during its 2007 annual meeting in Vancouver."

 

"Elsewhere, the Ontario Medical Association (OMA) is working closely with the province on several demonstration projects involving up to 69 PA positions, and is taking the lead on one involving PAs employed in physician offices. As well, two Ontario universities are considering introducing training for PAs.

 

"The PA programs are an important part of strengthening inter-professional care in Ontario," says OMA President Janice Willett. "We have been working closely with doctors to ensure the PA program is properly integrated into our health care system and that a good base is established for this new relationship. Doctors are very interested in working with PAs to improve access to care for patients."" http://prismadmin.cma.ca/index.php?ci_id=10042306&la_id=1

 

 

"Dr. Todd Watkins, director of the CMA's Office of Professional Services, said the CMA welcomes the launch of the U of T program. "We believe that the physician extender role of the PA will be a nice fit in Canada. We look forward to seeing them working collaboratively with physicians and becoming a mainstream part of our health care system."" http://prismadmin.cma.ca/index.php?ci_id=10043373&la_id=1

 

 

Also see: http://www.news-medical.net/news/20100210/CMA-launches-Physician-Assistant-Toolkit.aspx

And worth a read: https://www.oma.org/Resources/Documents/2009PAOMAStatement.pdf

 

 

As for nurses, the nurses and NPs who have actually worked with PAs usually have good things to say "Nurse practitioner Kim Crawford said there was "total acceptance" of the new workers by ED staff. The PAs and NPs deal with level three, four and five patients, and as wait times declined the number of patients who left the ED without being seen fell to 6-7% from 12.5%." http://prismadmin.cma.ca/index.php?ci_id=10043117&la_id=1