Chapter Seven ('Program Characteristics')

Non-Physician Practitioners in Primary Care
by
Timothy Bilash MD, MS
June 17, 1994
www.DrTimDelivers.com

based on
"The Roles of Physicians Assistants and Nurse Practitioners in Primary Care"
D. Kay Clawson and Marian Osterweis, Eds, 1993

1. "The majority of PA programs (83.7 percent) are asociated with either a university or a four-year college, and most award either a baccalaureate (62.5 percent) or master's degree (16 percent) upon completion." (p89)
   
   
2. "In recent years, nine PA programs have converted from a baccalaureate to a graduate-level curriculum." (p90)
   
   
3. "Costs associated with non-PA program faculty or staff who may provide educational and/or support services to the program were typically not included in the budget figures." (p91)
   
   
4. 'Overhead costs may not be factored into reported budget figures.' (p92)
   
   
5. 'Programs actively pursued innovative instructional and evaluation techniques. These have included: using simulated patients and videotapes to assess interviewing and physical examination skills; adopting problem-oriented approaches to didactic instruction; using clinical vignettes for asssessing physical examination competencies; and incorporating patient management problems for evaluating data management and problem-solving skills.' (p96)
   
   
   1. rotational, outreach aproach (p98)
      
   2. special administrative and resource needs (p99)
      
      1. 'Additional personnel are required to develop, schedule and monitor external clinical sites on a continuous basis. There are also attendant requirements for supporting student travel and housing accommodations. Lastly, this model requires students to assume a proactive role and substantial responsibility for their education; they are not subject to direct supervision by program faculty, as is the case during the first year of the curriculum.'
         
   3. How does this differ from innovations in MD programs?
      
   4. 'The rate of attrition is nearly seven-fold higher for PA than for medical students.' (p102)