Analysis of the level of clinical skills of physician assistants tested with simulated intensive care patients

Abstract

Rationale, aims, and objectivesSince adequate staffing in intensive care units (ICUs) is an increasing problem worldwide, we investigated whether physician assistants (PAs) are able to substitute medical residents (MR) in ICUs with at least the same quality of clinical skills. In this study, we analysed the level of clinical skills of PAs in direct comparison with those who traditionally performed these tasks, ie, MR with 6 to 24 months of work experience in the ICU.MethodPhysician assistants and MRs in the ICUs were observed on their clinical skills by means of a simulated ICU comprising 2 scenarios on a human patient simulator with typical ICU cases. The level of clinical skills of PAs and MRs was videotaped and scored with predefined checklists by 2 independent intensivists per scenario. Percentage of the total score was calculated, and means were compared by Student t test.ResultsA total of 11 PAs and 10 MRs participated in the study. Physician assistants and MRs scored equal (PA 66% ± 13% vs MR 68% ± 9%, P = .86) on their clinical performance in the simulated ICU setting.ConclusionThis study showed equal performance of PAs and MRs on clinical skills in the simulated ICU setting.

Advanced Practice Providers as Leaders of a Rapid Response Team: A Prospective Cohort Study

“…Nevertheless, this study is in line with other studies about patient and technical skill outcomes. Although APPs often perform relatively more technical and non-technical skills when comparing the number of APPs to the number MRs, this study underscores the difficulty of assessing the APP without their team and using the right tools to measure the added value of an APP [ 12 , 28 , 29 , 30 ].…”