Issue Briefs
SEMPA Policy Statement on EMPA Postgraduate Education
Postgraduate EMPA training has been, and is currently, a debated topic among organized medical groups. The Society of Emergency Medicine Physician Assistants (SEMPA), the nationally recognized organization representing Emergency Medicine Physician Assistants (EMPAs), can expertly address the educational skill sets, both clinical and didactic, that a PA needs in order to complement our physician colleagues in delivering quality care to patients and to advance our profession. There are bodies of knowledge, skills and patient centered care specific to the practice of emergency medicine which each and every EMPA should possess.
SEMPA leadership continues to examine and explore all avenues for life long learning. Education, in any form, which advances EMPA skills and careers, is desirable. This can be accomplished by EM specific CME programs, on the job training or through postgraduate education. At this time, SEMPA believes it is best for individual PAs to determine what life long learning path is best suited for them. Consequently, SEMPA does not endorse specific individual postgraduate education programs or degrees.
There are a variety of postgraduate education programs, residencies, fellowships and courses available for PAs to gain further knowledge in Emergency Medicine which award various degrees. A time may come for more advanced degrees, but this requirement is not yet on the horizon. Providing EMPAs with specific EM-related CME, including skills workshop, maintenance of evidence-based and current knowledge, seem to be the most plausible solution at this time. Focus should be on education and clinical competence, not the degree.
SEMPA is and will continue to be committed to exploring this postgraduate education topic, but it is up to the individual EM PA at this time to choose the path that best fulfills this for them. Initial results from the SEMPA membership survey (2007) indicate that the majority of EMPAs have little interest in advanced degrees, but rather, support a path for continued life-long learning. High quality, CME type offerings, from recognized leaders in Emergency Medicine that can be completed while continuing to practice clinically, appear to be most appealing to the respondents. SEMPA will continue to meet that need with our SEMPA Annual Emergency Medicine Conference, utilizing nationally recognized speakers to provide high quality lectures and workshops.
Adopted December 18, 2007
Physician Assistants and Emergency Medicine
Since the advent of the physician assistant (PA) profession in the mid-1960s, physician assistants have practiced in the field of emergency medicine. As of January 2002, there were 42,700 PAs in clinical practice, with approximately 4,300 practicing in emergency medicine. More than 90 percent of PAs practicing emergency medicine identify the hospital emergency room as their primary work setting. Physician assistants practice medicine with supervision by licensed physicians. PAs serve in many roles in emergency medicine, including those in prehospital patient care, patient triage, patient care in the ED, and selective administrative functions. PAs in emergency medicine are not limited to practicing in emergency departments. They also provide emergency care for patients in various settings, including, but not limited to, critical care units, prehospital situations, and ground or air transport of patients. Emergency Medicine PAs serve patients in communities of every type and size. Twenty three percent practice in rural communities; 41 percent are in inner city and urban communities, 32 percent in suburban communities, and one percent in other types of communities. Click here to read the Brief in its entirety. (PDF)
