Medical legacy from Viet Nam crucial in strengthening healthcare in US and winning peace in Iraq and around the globe...

Life savers then - Care givers now - Physician Assistants Day October 6th 2003 "Honoring the Role of the Vietnam Combat Medic/Corpsman in the Creation of the Physician Assistant Profession"

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(PRWEB) October 5, 2003

The Physician Assistant / Associate profession owes its formation to a physician in NC who found that he was able to train a young man who worked in his office to do many of the less complex tasks that he performed as a physician. Several NC physicians expanded on this idea proposing utilizing the same fast track model that prepared physicians for deployment in World War II.

Duke University felt that this new physician assistant concept could help alleviate the increasing shortage of primary care physicians in rural areas, deciding that the best candidate would be corpsmen or medics who were being used in the Viet Nam war. Duke proved that they were able to successfully train these individuals using the WW II fast track model and the PA profession was born.

The United States has since the 1960s developed a cadre of physician assistants to work in primary care. They mainly work semi-autonomously in association with individual doctors, but an increasing number work in hospitals. They seem to be well accepted by both doctors and patients and can reasonably expect to take on any unfilled roles for which their training qualifies them

During the mid-1960s a new cadre of providers of medical care, physician assistants, was developed in the United States in an effort to relieve a nationwide shortage of doctors in primary care and to increase access to health care for people in under served areas. The first trainees were highly skilled military paramedics. Today, there are more than 44 000 physician assistants in America. Internationally, the physician assistant model has been in place since 1992 in the Canadian forces, and a somewhat comparable profession exists in India. Recently several countries have become interested in adapting the concept of physician assistants to their needs. In the United Kingdom interest in the concept is increasing, as shown by the call by the NHS and the Royal College of Physicians for an early start of pilot projects.

Physician Associate / Assistant are: Committed to excellence in their medical practice and patient care, for the love of medicine and patients winning the heart of medicine and patients-one patient at a timeÂ© ...

CHARACTER and VALUE: Physician Assistants are by character compassionate advanced medical providers and team builders through individual professional excellence in collaboration and partnership with physicians, consultants, fellows / residents, nursing and other medical staff, achieving high quality outpatient and inpatient care, through problem solving, working interdependently and assuming responsibility for their patients. PAs are cost effective medical providers for insurance companies, businesses, and patients, contributing to a solid financial foundation of the whole health care system.

MISSION and SERVICE: The Physician AssistantÂs mission serves in all medical and surgical specialties, operating as established medical colleagues and associates through collaborative care agreements with doctors, hospitals, practices, and clinics. PAs are extended Hospital credentials and privileges.

MEDICAL COMPETENCY: First and foremost PAs are trained in the same medical model as are physicians. This training exposes them to all areas of medicine in a condensed time frame. PAs then in practice, enhance their chosen specialty in a structured residency program and/or hand in hand with their physician colleagues. PAs must also pass national certification boards and recertify every six years. In many cases PAs who are in practice for years bring to their patients a level of experience and care that often exceeds that of medical residents and less experienced physicians.

PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTs: Are rigorously medically trained and are licensed medical professionals as advanced medical providers who establish and build a medical practice diagnosing and treating their own patient roster, serving in a variety of clinical settings, such as specialists in Cardiac care, Orthopaedics and Sports medicine, Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Occupational Health, Pulmonary Care, Neurology, Gastroentology, Neonatology, Family Medicine, Urology, Obstetrics and Gynecology, in primary care practices, geriatric long-term care facilities, hospitals, correctional institutions, Federal and community-based clinics. In short, PAs are trained and certified advanced medical practitioners giving complete and outstanding

patient care.

DEGREES OF AUTONOMY: Physician Assistants are generally excellent team builders respecting the limits of a supervising Physician's medical professional relationships and state laws. It's vitally important that the PA and MD are similar in their team approach! This successful continuum includes some PAs practicing significant autonomy, while other PAs and MDs want a much closer professional relationship with a supervising MD who is more, often than not, physically present for considerable amounts of direction and oversight.

SCOPE OF PRACTICE includes:

#Comprehensive physical assessment; evaluating, diagnosing, and treating new and existing patient's medical and surgical conditions.

#Initiating and interpreting labs and x-ray studies including CTs & MRIs.

#Performing medical and surgical procedures.

#Prescribing and referring patients for specialized consultation.

#Assisting Physicians in medical and surgical procedures.

#Using prescriptive authority to write prescription medicines for patients.

#Write/Dictate progress notes on patients' charts indicating patient status and treatment procedures performed.

#Conducting follow-up patient care.

#Providing health education to patients and families.

#Supervising and/or coordinating the activities of patient care and support staff within the clinic.

#Training and supervising medical residents engaged in specific clinical activities.

#Teaching and training illness prevention.

#Actively participate in community health education.

#Performing emergency life saving procedures in cases such as cardiac arrest, respiratory arrest, massive hemorrhage, or similar emergencies.

#Are among front line medical providers in emergency disaster services.

PATIENT'S EVALUATION: Patients highly value PAs for their exceptional people skills in uniting their advanced medical expertise with outstanding quality patient care by:

Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.

Giving the patient quality compassionate and empathetic caring.

Giving the patient more time through Active listening.

Giving the patient more easily understood feedback and instructions,

Promoting greater patient health and wellness.

resulting in patients often preferring medical treatment by physician assistants-associates...

"Consumers seek a broader array of health services than physicians have time, inclination, or expertise to address. Interdisciplinary care is a more efficient and effective strategy for providing care of high quality since all providers contribute what they do best." Linda H. Aiken, PhD, RN Jan. 14, 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/447839

For patients with chronic illness, treatment by a multidisciplinary team represents the state of the art, with nonphysicians providing most of the routine care and ancillary services while physicians and PAs manage more acute and complex problems.

PAs KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS and ABILITIES INCLUDE:

#Ability to perform medical examinations using standard medical procedures.

#Knowledge of drugs and their indications, contraindications, dosing, side effects, and proper administration.

#Knowledge of clinical operations and procedures.

#Knowledge of primary care principles and practices.

#Knowledge of patient care charts and patient histories.

#Knowledge of OR, pre-op and/or post-op procedures.

#Knowledge of CPR and emergency medical procedures.

#Knowledge of current and emerging trends in technologies, techniques, issues, and approaches in area of expertise.

#Ability to clearly communicate medical information to professional practitioners and/or the general public.

#Ability to maintain quality, safety, and/or infection control standards.

#Ability to observe, assess, and record symptoms, reactions, and progress.

#Ability to make administrative and procedural decisions.

#Knowledge of related accreditation and certification requirements.

#Ability to react calmly and effectively in emergency situations.

#Ability to supervise and train staff, including organizing, prioritizing, and scheduling work assignments.

#Skill in preparing and maintaining patient records.

#Ability to educate patients and/or families as to the nature of disease and to provide instruction on proper care and treatment.

Physician Assistants believe when each medical team member is honored and celebrated for their skills, abilities, and love of medicine and patients, the whole team benefits and patients received the best available medical care making the whole health cares system fundamentally sound.Â©

Sources for this News Release:

From Viet Nam to Iraq and around the globe;What Does a Physician Assistant Do?

http://www.paworld.net/media.htm#What's A PA?

Combat Medic/Corpsman Memorial Sculpture Project

http://www.utah.edu/upap/news.html
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You might want to see the United States Surgeon General news release at

http://www.paworld.net/media.htm

From Viet Nam to Iraq and around the globe;

What Does a Physician Assistant Do?

http://www.paworld.net/media.htm#What's A PA?

Why I Choose Being a Physician Assistant

http://www.paworld.net/whyichosepa.htm