Clinician's Roundtable

The National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) will launch their specialty certification program, beginning with five specialties, in 2011. What does a PA who may want to get certifiedneed to know? Dr. Randy Danielsen, dean of Arizona School of Health Sciences at A.T. Still University in Mesa, Arizona, joins host Lisa Dandrea Lenell to talk about why it's the right time for certification in the PA field as well as the myths and fears surrounding these new changes.

When PAs meet other PAs from across the country, they often ask each other, Are you a Duke-trained PA or a MEDEX PA? This question comes from the early days of the profession when a difference in training depended on whether you lived on the east coast or the west coast of the United States. Ruth Ballweg, director of the MEDEX Northwest Physician Assistant Program at the University of Washington School of Medicine, joins host Lisa Dandrea Lenell to discuss the history of the MEDEX program and what this model offers to PA students.

Dupuytren's disease can cause severe joint contracture in the hands, and surgery is often recommended for these patients most affected by the condition. But Dr. Lawrence Hurst, professor, chairman and chief of the division of hand surgery in the department of orthopaedics at Stony Brook School of Medicine Health Sciences Center, tells us about another new, non-surgical option that may soon be available for treating Dupuytren's contracture, using injectable collagenase. What types of patients are most susceptible to developing this condition? Dr. Lee Freedman hosts.

The field of temporary workers has become commonplace to satisfy shortages of nurses and fill gaps to ensure health care delivery. Doctors too — and particularly primary care physicians — are increasingly going locum tenens. The numbers may surprise you. Jenni Hunter, divisional vice president of Staff Care, tells host Bruce Japsen about how physician staffing is no longer just temporary but a career choice for more of the nation's physicians.

Informed decision-making involves helping patients arrive at the questions that can ultimately help their doctors deliver the best possible medical care. Jeff Belkora, director of Decision Services at the University of California San Francisco Breast Care Center, a demonstration program of the Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making, tells host Bruce Japsen about ways to put more information and choices into patients' hands and the possible benefits of doing so to physicians and patient care.

The Department of Veterans Affairs is the single largest employer of PAs in the United States. With 1,600 PAs in the VA workforce, the PA leadership is only a part time field position. Dr. Tom Zampieri, director of government relations for the Blinded Veterans Association, joins host Lisa D'Andrea Lenell to talk about the possibility of a full-time director in the VA central office.

Once an insider in the health insurance industry crafting messages in a battle against health reform, he's now telling secrets in hopes of affecting change. Wendell Potter, a former public relations executive for health insurance giants Humana and Cigna, warns about industry practices he says short-changed doctors and their patients and boosted health plan profits.

Physician assistants have been practicing in Manitoba, Canada, for only the past 10 years. With a shortage of physicians across the country, the need for PAs is more crucial than ever. Ian Jones, president of the Canadian Association of Physician Assistants, joins host Lisa D'Andrea Lenell to discuss the success of PAs within the Canadian medical system over such a short time frame, as well as the job openings available to American PAs just across the border.

Where is the beginning of the physician assistant profession? Is it in the 1960's, in response to a growing a shortage of physicians? Or does it go back even earlier than that? Dr. Reginald Carter, founder of the PA History Center in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, joins host Lisa Dandrea Lenell to talk about the pioneers at the roots of the profession and why it's critical to preserve this history.

The physician assistant profession is rich in history. The PA History Center at the Duke University Medical Center in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, houses everything from oral histories of early PAs to photographs, personal papers and artifacts at the museum. Dr. Reggie Carter, founder of the PA History Center, and Leila Ledbetter, director and archivist at the Center, joins host Lisa Dandrea Lenell to discuss the importance of the museum to the PA profession and how you can experience it, even if you can't visit in person.