A physician’s role in health care should be to promote affordable quality care for the patient. The importance of this role was exemplified in the final Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regulation that repealed the requirement for local hospital boards but – to help offset concerns regarding "the importance of physician input at the governing body level" – inserted a requirement...

the changing demands on the health sectors in low- and middle-income countries especially sub-saharan african countries continue to challenge efforts to address critical shortages of the health workforce. addressing these challenges have led to the evolution of “non-physician clinicians” (npcs), that assume some physician roles and thus mitigate the continuing shortage of doctors in these count...

Physician assistants (PAs) have been used for decades in the Canadian military. Now, PAs are being introduced in various clinical settings to provide patient care for the general population. This article reviews major developments in the PA profession across Canada over the last decade. Nearly 541 PAs are employed in Canada or work for a Canadian agency. Growing evidence demonstrates the positi...

BACKGROUND Although effective role models are important in medical education, little is known about the characteristics of physicians who serve as excellent clinical role models. We therefore conducted a case-control study to identify attributes that distinguish such physicians from their colleagues. METHODS We asked members of the internal-medicine house staff at four teaching hospitals to n...

Several frameworks are presented for understanding the development of interest in the role of the Physician Associate as a potential career opportunity for nurses. The contribution of professional role identification with nursing, medicine, and amalgamation of the two professions are explored as a basis for career choice. The usefulness of the current mobility model in health careers emphasizin...