The utilization of surgical physician assistants: Policy implications for the future

D. E. Detmer, H. B. Perry

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

The growing experience in the United States with surgical physician assistants is now convincing many surgeons that these new health professionals provide patient support services equivalent to those provided by junior surgical physician houseofficers. Owing to the growing needs for this level of personnel, particularly in major teaching and referral centers, and also because of the growing recognition of a need to reduce the number of surgeons being trained in these institutions, we expect that there will be a major growth in the role of surgical physician assistants in the immediate future. Although not all the issues regarding this new manpower innovation have been resolved, we believe that this trend will make it possible to improve the quality of surgical care in the United States, to reduce the number of surgeons being trained, and to enable practicing surgeons to be more productive and hence more proficient.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)669-675
Number of pages7
JournalSurgical Clinics of North America
Volume62
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 1982
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Surgery

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The utilization of surgical physician assistants: Policy implications for the future'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this