Article
Development and implementation of an elective curriculum ‘General Practice‘ for Physician Assistants
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Authors
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Gesine F.C. Weckmann
- GIS BIOTECH, USA
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Manfred Eissler
- Hausärztliche Gemeinschaftspraxis Dres Eissler, Deutschland
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Nicola Buhlinger-Göpfarth
- Europäische Fachhochschule, Deutschland, Deutschland
| Published: | September 23, 2024 |
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Outline
Text
Background: In 2017, the German Medical Assembly endorsed a "Physician Assistant" (PA) delegation model for supporting physicians. As general practitioners (GP) care for a high volume of patients, integrating PAs could constitute an attractive option to support GPs in addition to existing delegation models.
Research question: To develop a curriculum suitable to prepare Physician Assistants for work in a GP setting.
Methods: A curriculum was developed (GW), drawing upon existing curricular frameworks, including typical GP concepts, diagnostic strategies, reasons for consultation and background knowledge like epidemiology in primary care. This was further detailed and adapted (NBG,ME), training materials were developed (NBG, ME) and the curriculum was implemented (NBG, ME, GW) as an elective for PA during their qualification.
Results: The curriculum consisted of the thematic units: 1: Fundamentals and Practice of Primary Care with subjects like Approach to Patient Care, Multimorbidity and Chronic Patients, 2: Consultation Reasons and Clinical Skills with subjects like Guideline-based Management of Common afflictions and Practical Skills in GP, 3: Management of chronic patients with subjects like management of chronic disease, multimorbidity and geriatric patients, 4: Practice Management and Administration with subjects like practice organization and billing.
Additional topics like climate conscious medical care and current guidelines were incorporated, and the curriculum was implemented. Preliminary results indicate successful implementation, with positive feedback from participating PA students and supervising physicians. Initial assessments suggest improved confidence and competence among students in handling common clinical scenarios encountered in GP as well as a heightened interest to work in GP.
Discussion: Integrating PA into primary care warrants tailored educational interventions to provide comprehensive training incorporating skills and knowledge needed in this setting. Further research is warranted to evaluate the integration of the subject of GP in the PA curriculum and its effects on choice of working field after training.
Take Home Message for the practice: Integrating PA into primary care warrants training tailored to a GP setting.
