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PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS IN A DEVELOPING COUNTRY
Author(s) -
Boohene A. G.
Publication year - 1972
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1972.tb47646.x
Subject(s) - remuneration , officer , health centre , accreditation , nursing , private practice , work (physics) , medicine , family medicine , rural area , medical education , political science , mechanical engineering , pathology , law , engineering
Two types of medical auxiliaries or physician assistants are being trained and utilized in Ghana at present. These are health centre superintendents and nurse anaesthetists. The former is a multi purpose, the latter a unipurpose medical auxiliary. Both cadres are selected from experienced male and female nurses in the country. THE HEALTH CENTRE SUPERINTENDENT is trained for one year by medical officers and other experienced health workers and he is utilized for curative, pro motive and preventive health work in rural and urban health centres. He works under the super vision of a medical officer. Such supervision is usually remote in the rural health centre but quite close in the urban setting. He is forbidden to undertake private practice. In relation to his work and responsibilities, his career prospects and remun eration are relatively poor but these are currently being looked into. THE NURSE ANÆSTHETIST is trained for six months by accredited anaesthe tists and he works mainly in hospitals of all grades throughout the country. He also works under the supervision of doctors and he is not allowed private practice. His career prospects and remuneration are similar to those of the health centre super intendent.