Severe burnout is common in critical care medicine physician assistants. Higher patient-to-critical care medicine physician assistant ratios and provision of futile care are risk factors for severe burnout.
Since its inception, physician assistants (PAs) have been and continue to be successfully integrated into many critical care (CC) departments across the nation. The combination of both a projected shortage of intensivists and the recent house staff work hour restrictions, enforced by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), will increase the demand for PA coverage. Prior success in integrating PAs into ICUs has proven that PAs can fill the large gap created by the aforementioned factors and do so in an efficient and cost-effective manner. Given that PA naïve institutions still exist specifically within the field of CC medicine, this article aims to introduce and describe how PAs can be incorporated into an ICU. In addition, areas of focus will highlight hiring, training, credentialing/billing, and evolving continuing education.
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