Salon Publishes Dean Wadsworth’s Op-ed

A Salon op-ed by NYITCOM Dean Nicole Wadsworth, D.O., contends that expanding the scope of practice for physician assistants can help ease challenges caused by the nationwide physician shortage. As the op-ed notes, the average wait time for a doctor’s appointment in the United States is 26 days.,with patients in rural areas experiencing even longer delays. Yet getting treated doesn’t need to be this difficult. Physician assistants, licensed medical professionals, can assist in handling some routine duties that would otherwise require doctors’ time, allowing for more patients to be seen. But in many states, physician assistants aren’t allowed to practice to the full extent of their training—at the “top of their license” in industry speak.

“We may have a limited number of doctors, but there’s another source of high-quality, professional care. Our hospitals and healthcare providers need to rely more on physician assistants—who at the moment, are often barred from working at the level for which they’re trained,” writes Wadsworth. “That needs to change.”