The Professional Role of Physician's Assistants in Adult Ambulatory Care Practices

Abstract

This article describes the methodology and findings of a national survey of Physician's Assistants (PAs) in adult, ambulatory care practices. Data on patient care roles and other professional activities were collected for a three-day period via a comprehensive self-reporting, log-diary instrument. Completing the instrument were 356 (50.4%o) PAs. Survey results address thefollowing questions: What is the typical work week for PAs? How do PAs allocate their time in a professional day? What direct patient care services do PAs provide? How productive are PAs with respect to number of patients seen and dollar income generated? In general, the data are consistent with the PA role model of a primary health care professional who provides basic health care services with an emphasis on patient counseling and disease prevention.