Two physician assistants have been hired at a Vancouver Island hospital to work in the emergency department as part of a groundbreaking B.C. pilot project aimed at addressing staffing shortages.
PAs could help alleviate the health-care crisis in the province, particularly in the rural communities that have been among the hardest hit.
Physician assistants are educated under the same medical model used to train doctors but through a two-year graduate program. They can conduct patient interviews, provide physical examinations, perform diagnostic and therapeutic interventions, prescribe most medicines, order and read tests, and make referrals under the guidance of a physician.
Already working in other parts of Canada, the PA experiment at Saanich Peninsula Hospital outside Victoria is an attempt to alleviate the health-care crisis in the province, particularly in the rural communities that have been among the hardest hit.
Fred Bai began working as a physician assistant in Manitoba in 2012. He previously worked as a medical geneticist abroad and spent a number of years providing patient care as a registered nurse.
Eric Demers became a physician assistant in 2010 while serving with the Canadian Armed Forces. In addition to continuing to offer medical assistance to isolated First Nations communities in Canada's northern regions, Demers will assist the Saan Pen emergency department team.
As part of a one-year pilot program authorized by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia, Bai and Demers began their clinical shifts as B.C.'s first non-military PAs on Jan. 8.
"We've been excitedly waiting and working through the processes to have our physician assistants joining us," said Dr. Brendon Irvine, medical director for Saanich Peninsula and the Gulf Islands. "We plan to hire at least six physician assistants so that they can be present in our emergency department through our open hours as Saan Pen has had to reduce our night hours due to staffing challenges. We're glad to have them here and look forward to their contribution."
The Canadian Armed Forces were the first to implement the physician assistant model in Canada in 1984. They were then incorporated into the country's public health-care system in Manitoba in 2009 and Ontario in 2007 (first as clinical assistants in 1999 and then as PAs).
"We're finally into the process and it's out of our need for increasing human resource and supporting the demand of patient care, which has gone up incredibly, especially in our area," Irvine said.
The director explains Saan Pen has had a huge increase in volume through the emergency room because of wait times and as such, has been trying to keep to reasonable wait times and getting patients through the department.
"The hospital's nursing, laboratory and medical imaging departments, along with other employees who assist patients in navigating the emergency room, are all involved in the pilot program," he added.
Irvine credits Dr. Paeta Lehn, medical lead at Saan Pen emergency department for taking charge in implementing the pilot program and Island Health's Robert Parker and Donna Meadows for coordinating the program.
The hospital is currently busy carrying out another selection process for the next batch of physician assistants joining Bai and Demer in the next few months.
"There's a number of PAs available from out of Canada that are applying and we look forward to seeing how they fit in," Irvine said.
91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ” with files from Black Press Media and the Canadian Press