Are the new PA students helpful to emergency medicine physicians in Israel?

Objective:Physician assistants (PA) began training in Israeli EDs in 2016. Physician perspectives were measured to evaluate the clinical contributions of PA students.Methods:Investigators surveyed members of the Israeli Association of Emergency Medicine Physicians in 2017 to rate whether PA students were helpful in patient care and to explore perceptions about PA students.Results:Those working with a PA student felt they were helpful to very helpful in all of the clinical tasks measured. The majority (85%) of other physicians wanted to work with a PA student in the future. Ordering medications, administering IV fluid therapy, and suturing accounted for 60% of the tasks that physicians wanted to add to PA scope of practice.Conclusions:PA students were helpful in the ED and were meeting expectations for clinical contributions. Most physicians would like to work with PAs and they would like to see PAs increase their scope of practice.