Non-primary care providers play a significant role in the delivery of health services to thousands of patients every day. For most people, the difference between primary and non-primary care providers is insignificant as long as they meet their health requirements. Unknown to many, these caregivers receive different forms of training and licenses from the physicians, encounter limitations, and face opposition from primary care providers.
Assistant physicians (PA) are one group of non-primary care providers in the healthcare sector. Educational qualifications of assistant physicians include undergraduate degrees in any health science course, physician assistant programs in learning institutions, and passing the physician assistant exam, which is administered at the national level. Moreover, the PA requires additional clinical training under the supervision of a physician to acquire practical skills. A PA must apply for licensing to work as professionals using national exam transcripts. PAs perform a variety of tasks including diagnosis, testing, counseling, treating patients, and performing physical exams under the guidance of physicians (Hooker & Everett, 2012) .
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The primary limitation facing PAs is the lack of autonomy over their work. Regardless of the amount of experience a PA possesses, he or she must work and directly report to the physician. Therefore, they cannot pursue what they perceive to be the best treatment plan for a patient, and this often leads to low job motivation.
Additionally, some physicians oppose working with PA’s because they dispute their educational background and ability to treat patients. PAs undergo shorter training periods compared to fully-fledged physicians. Thus, they may be unaware of the signs and symptoms of diseases and the right treatment. Fear of misdiagnosis among PAs is a major concern for physicians. In spite, of these oppositions, PAs play a critical role in healthcare by availing primary healthcare service in rural areas and for disadvantaged populations; thus enhancing the coordination of care in the hospital setting (Halter et al., 2013).
References
Halter, M., Drennan, V., Chattopadhyay, K., Carneiro, W., Yiallouros, J., de Lusignan, S., ... & Grant, R. (2013). The contribution of physician assistants in primary care: a systematic review. BMC health services research , 13 (1), 223.
Hooker, R. S., & Everett, C. M. (2012). The contributions of physician assistants in primary care systems. Health & social care in the community , 20 (1), 20-31.
