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Core Curriculum to Facilitate the Expansion of a Rheumatology Practice to Include Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants
Author(s) -
Smith Benjamin J.,
Bolster Marcy B.,
Slusher Barbara,
Stamatos Christine,
Scott Jeanne R.,
Benham Heather,
Kazi Salahuddin,
Schlenk Elizabeth A.,
Schaffer Daniel E.,
Majithia Vikas,
Brown Calvin R.,
Von Feldt Joan M.,
Flood Joseph,
Haag David M.,
Smarr Karen L.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
arthritis care and research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.032
H-Index - 163
eISSN - 2151-4658
pISSN - 2151-464X
DOI - 10.1002/acr.23546
Subject(s) - medicine , rheumatology , curriculum , workforce , family medicine , medical education , population , physical therapy , psychology , pedagogy , economics , economic growth , environmental health
Objective Due to an aging population, increasing prevalence of rheumatic disease, and a growing supply and demand gap of rheumatology providers, innovative solutions are needed to meet the needs of persons with rheumatic conditions. Nurse practitioners ( NP s) and physician assistants ( PA s) have been identified as a group of health professionals who could help address the workforce shortage. The Executive Committee of the Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals ( ARHP ), a division of the American College of Rheumatology ( ACR ), charged a task force to facilitate the preparation of NP s/ PA s to work in a rheumatology practice setting. Methods The task force, consisting of private practice and academic rheumatologists, and NP s and PA s, from both adult and pediatric settings, conducted a needs assessment survey of current NP s and PA s to identify mechanisms for acquiring rheumatology knowledge. Through face‐to‐face and webinar meetings, and incorporating stakeholder feedback, the task force designed a rheumatology curriculum outline to enrich the training of new NP s and PA s joining rheumatology practice. Results Informed by the needs assessment data and stakeholders, an NP / PA rheumatology curriculum outline was developed and endorsed by the ACR Board of Directors for use by community‐based and academic rheumatology practices, whether pediatric or adult, who desire to add NP s and PA s to their practice setting. Conclusion As rheumatology is facing workforce shortages, the ACR / ARHP rheumatology curriculum outline can be utilized to train NP s and PA s and create more efficient integration of NP s and PA s into rheumatology practice.