PA clinical postgraduate training

Abstract

Clinical postgraduate training (CPGT) for physician assistants (PAs) began in 1971. A half-century later, the United States has 144 programs in 33 specialties. A growing and aging population, specialization in healthcare, and changes in graduate medical education have created new opportunities for PAs to consider this alternative following graduation. Postgraduate training is attractive to PA graduates who desire advanced skills and deeper understanding in a medical or surgical specialty. This article describes the history of CPGT programs, training, and establishment of an accreditation process for educational standardization.

Describing the landscape of integrated clinical educational programs for PAs and NPs

“…We theorize (it is beyond the scope of this study to establish) that the trend toward interprofessional PA/NP training has been driven by changes in the clinical workplace, where PAs and NPs share similar roles in collaborative practices. Furthermore, this educational innovation was likely affected by the rapid expansion of PAs and NPs in academic clinical settings (often in subspecialty disciplines) driven by the physician resident workhour restrictions implemented nearly 20 years ago 10…”

“…Furthermore, this educational innovation was likely affected by the rapid expansion of PAs and NPs in academic clinical settings (often in subspecialty disciplines) driven by the physician resident workhour restrictions implemented nearly 20 years ago. 10…”