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A hospitalist postgraduate training program for physician assistants
Author(s) -
Will Kristen K.,
Budavari Adriane I.,
Wilkens James A.,
Mishark Kenneth,
Hartsell Zachary C.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of hospital medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.128
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1553-5606
pISSN - 1553-5592
DOI - 10.1002/jhm.619
Subject(s) - medicine , hospital medicine , physician assistants , medline , training (meteorology) , medical education , family medicine , nurse practitioners , health care , political science , law , economics , economic growth , physics , meteorology
Many hospitalist groups are hiring physician assistants (PAs) to augment their physician services. Finding PAs with hospitalist experience is difficult. Employers often have to recruit PAs from other specialties or hire new graduates who have limited hospital experience. Furthermore, entry‐level PA training focuses on primary care, with more clinical rotations centered in the outpatient setting. In light of these challenges, our institution created a 12‐month postgraduate training program in Hospital Medicine for 1 PA per year. It is the first reported postgraduate PA hospitalist fellowship to offer a certificate of completion. The program's curriculum is based on the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) “Core Competencies,” and is comprised of 12 one‐month rotations in different aspects of hospital medicine supplemented by formal didactic instruction. In addition, the PA fellow completes “teaching modules” on various topics not directly covered in their rotations. Furthermore, this postgraduate physician assistant training program represents a model that can be utilized at almost any institution, academic or community‐based. As the need for hospitalists increases, so will the need for trained physician assistants in hospital medicine. Journal of Hospital Medicine 2010;5:94–98. © 2010 Society of Hospital Medicine.