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Physicians Assistants in Cardiothoracic Surgery: A 30-Year Experience in a University Center
Presented at the Fiftieth Annual Meeting of the Southern Thoracic Surgical Association, Bonita Springs, FL, Nov 1315, 2003.
Vinod H. Thourani MD and Joseph I. Miller, Jr MD,
Joseph B. Whitehead Department of Surgery, Section of General Thoracic Surgery, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia
Accepted 11 July 2005. Available online 19 December 2005.
Background
The purpose of this study was to evaluate our 30 years of experience with the use of physician assistants (PAs) on a cardiothoracic surgery (CTS) service.
Methods
A retrospective review of the utilization of CTS PAs was performed at a university center from 1973 to 2003.
Results
The number of PAs has increased from 2 (1973) to 23 (2003), corresponding to the increased clinical service demands with a constant resident number for the past decade. Physician assistant employment has expanded from one hospital to five hospitals in our university system where CTS is performed. The CTS service has expanded from 400 total cases per year (1973) to 4,000 cases (2002). We have had a 50% retention rate with duration of employment from 6 months to 28 years (11 PAs with service more than than 15 years). The PA role has changed little, with duties varying from history and physical examination, conduit harvesting, insertion of invasive catheters and chest tubes, surgical first assisting, closure of the chest, and optional primary intensive care unit night-time in-house call. Salary currently ranges from $55,000 to $100,000 depending on length of service and overall merit. Job satisfaction for PAs employed longer than 12 months has remained high.
Conclusions
The addition of PAs to our CTS university service has allowed us to resolve many problems of work assignment and coverage and enabled us to establish effective and efficient surgical teams without increasing the number of categorical CTS residents.
Address correspondence to Dr Miller, Section of Thoracic Surgery, Crawford Long Hospital, 550 Peachtree St NE, Suite 7700, Medical Office Tower, Atlanta, GA 30308
The Annals of Thoracic Surgery
Volume 81, Issue 1 , January 2006, Pages 195-200
Copyright © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. ScienceDirect® is a registered trademark of Elsevier B.V.
Presented at the Fiftieth Annual Meeting of the Southern Thoracic Surgical Association, Bonita Springs, FL, Nov 1315, 2003.
Vinod H. Thourani MD and Joseph I. Miller, Jr MD,
Joseph B. Whitehead Department of Surgery, Section of General Thoracic Surgery, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia
Accepted 11 July 2005. Available online 19 December 2005.
Background
The purpose of this study was to evaluate our 30 years of experience with the use of physician assistants (PAs) on a cardiothoracic surgery (CTS) service.
Methods
A retrospective review of the utilization of CTS PAs was performed at a university center from 1973 to 2003.
Results
The number of PAs has increased from 2 (1973) to 23 (2003), corresponding to the increased clinical service demands with a constant resident number for the past decade. Physician assistant employment has expanded from one hospital to five hospitals in our university system where CTS is performed. The CTS service has expanded from 400 total cases per year (1973) to 4,000 cases (2002). We have had a 50% retention rate with duration of employment from 6 months to 28 years (11 PAs with service more than than 15 years). The PA role has changed little, with duties varying from history and physical examination, conduit harvesting, insertion of invasive catheters and chest tubes, surgical first assisting, closure of the chest, and optional primary intensive care unit night-time in-house call. Salary currently ranges from $55,000 to $100,000 depending on length of service and overall merit. Job satisfaction for PAs employed longer than 12 months has remained high.
Conclusions
The addition of PAs to our CTS university service has allowed us to resolve many problems of work assignment and coverage and enabled us to establish effective and efficient surgical teams without increasing the number of categorical CTS residents.
Address correspondence to Dr Miller, Section of Thoracic Surgery, Crawford Long Hospital, 550 Peachtree St NE, Suite 7700, Medical Office Tower, Atlanta, GA 30308
The Annals of Thoracic Surgery
Volume 81, Issue 1 , January 2006, Pages 195-200
Copyright © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. ScienceDirect® is a registered trademark of Elsevier B.V.
