[Task shifting and quality of care in practice; physician assistants compared with anaesthesiology residents in the preoperative anaesthesiology outpatient clinic]

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical competencies of second-year anaesthesiology residents and physician assistants (PA) in the preoperative anaesthesiology outpatient clinic. DESIGN: Comparative qualitative observational study. METHOD: The two study groups were compared using 5 test stations representing 5 different cases of varying degrees of complexity with standardized patients. For each case, the patients and two anaesthesiologists assessed the results of the PAs and the residents using a quantitative scoring system for 4 clinical skills relevant to the preoperative anaesthesiology outpatient clinic. These skills were history-taking, physical examination, communication, and reporting. At each station, a score was calculated for each skill. The groups' scores were subsequently compared. RESULTS: 9 PAs and 11 residents carried out the station tests. There were no significant differences between the two groups of participants. CONCLUSION: In this study in a preoperative anaesthesiology outpatient clinic no difference in clinical competencies was found between PAs and second-year anaesthesiology residents.