Assistant Physician Questions

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hello63

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I wasn't really sure which subtopic to address this under, but am hoping someone here might have some additional information.

For a little background, I graduated medical school this past May and chose not to pursue residency at that time due to my wife becoming very sick, though I am hoping to complete an IM residency program in the future. In the meantime, I am considering applying to become an Assistant Physician so that I can still practice medicine and have decent income until our situation changes. However, I know very little about this prospect and there isn't really much information online.

Some questions that I have are:
- Is Missouri the only state currently allowing for assistant physicians? I saw a few people mention Virginia and New York passing similar laws for "associate physicians" but could find no evidence of that from legitimate sources.
- What type of practice arrangement do/will assistant physicians usually have? I understand that they must work with or near their collaborating physician - but how does that actually work? Can APs work anywhere as long as it is within a certain distance of that person? How does one go about finding those positions?

Any helpful information or educated opinions greatly appreciated

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I wasn't really sure which subtopic to address this under, but am hoping someone here might have some additional information.

For a little background, I graduated medical school this past May and chose not to pursue residency at that time due to my wife becoming very sick, though I am hoping to complete an IM residency program in the future. In the meantime, I am considering applying to become an Assistant Physician so that I can still practice medicine and have decent income until our situation changes. However, I know very little about this prospect and there isn't really much information online.

Some questions that I have are:
- Is Missouri the only state currently allowing for assistant physicians? I saw a few people mention Virginia and New York passing similar laws for "associate physicians" but could find no evidence of that from legitimate sources.
- What type of practice arrangement do/will assistant physicians usually have? I understand that they must work with or near their collaborating physician - but how does that actually work? Can APs work anywhere as long as it is within a certain distance of that person? How does one go about finding those positions?

Any helpful information or educated opinions greatly appreciated


Is there a better category to post this thread under?
 
Is there a better category to post this thread under?
It just seems like it's a topic that not many people know much about, and does seem to be restricted to a handful of states.

Based on a quick search, it appears that Kansas and Arkansas also approved similar legislation: AOA: Cap assistant physician license renewals at 2 | The DO
Unfortunately, after 2 years (as of May 2016) the program in Missouri had issued exactly zero assistant physician licenses (Zero assistant physician licenses issued in Missouri after two years) To answer your question of what the "arrangement" usually is or "how it works"... it doesn't sound like anyone has figured that out yet.

I know that's not really what you're looking for, but I'm just saying the reason you haven't gotten answers may be that nobody has really worked to make this a viable option yet. Perhaps someone else who has some experience might chime in.
 
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I don't know anything about this specific question.

Very sorry to hear about your wife. I think your best bet is to apply next cycle and only be a year out of med school to get into residency. The longer you wait the bigger a problem you are going to have matching.
 
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I don't know anything about this specific question.

Very sorry to hear about your wife. I think your best bet is to apply next cycle and only be a year out of med school to get into residency. The longer you wait the bigger a problem you are going to have matching.

This right here. Also get in touch with your medical school and see if there is something available through there that can help you out. Medical schools tend to be very supportive of things like this. Sorry to hear about your wife, I hope she recovers well.
 
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Sounds like the state legislature came up with the program without consulting with the board of medicine.
 
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I appreciate the responses, thank you all
 
Sounds like the state legislature came up with the program without consulting with the board of medicine.
Shocking.

It was actually written/sponsored by an orthopedic surgeon in the state legislature. You know he doesn't give a s*** about primary care.

I've got $5 on one of his kids graduating from a 3rd tier Caribbean school and not matching being the reason for this.

On a more practical note, although the law went into effect 2 years ago, it was only February of this year that the State medical board actually got around to getting the administrative part of it in order.

As of today, there appear to be a grand total of 25 "Assistant Physicians" licensed in the state. The likelihood of one of them reading this thread is pretty small...but not zero.
 
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Some questions that I have are:
- Is Missouri the only state currently allowing for assistant physicians? I saw a few people mention Virginia and New York passing similar laws for "associate physicians" but could find no evidence of that from legitimate sources.
- What type of practice arrangement do/will assistant physicians usually have? I understand that they must work with or near their collaborating physician - but how does that actually work? Can APs work anywhere as long as it is within a certain distance of that person? How does one go about finding those positions?

Any helpful information or educated opinions greatly appreciated[/QUOTE]

Hello,

Missouri is currently the only state allowing for Assistant Physicians. There are other States with legislation under consideration but have not passed and into effect like Missouri.

In general, the practice arrangement an Assistant Physician will have is working with a collaborating physician and providing any support to the physician. This can include interviewing and performing physical exam and also help composing SOAP notes. But it varies depending on the hospital/clinic an Assistant Physician gets to work under and also who the collaborating physician is.

I believe most Assistant Physicians right now work with a collaborating physician in close proximity i.e. in the same hospital/clinic setting.

To find a position a call/visit to the hospital/clinic can be made.
 
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I tried to post (3) three links for you, but I have just signed up to reply so I am unable to.

Instead search MPCA find a health center

Also search these websites Association of Medical Doctor Assistant Physicians & freedom for doctors d o t o r g
 
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