PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of job stress, emotional labor, and positive psychological capital on the job satisfaction of physician assistants (PAs). METHODS: The sample consisted of 166 PAs working in general hospitals in B city, Y city, and C city. Data were analyzed through the SPSS/WIN 18.0 program using t-test, ANOVA, Scheffé test, Pearson's correlation coefficients, and multiple regression. RESULTS: The factors of job stress (β=−.488, p<.001), positive psychological capital (β=.188, p=.004), and total clinical career (β=−.147, p=.014) had the greatest influence on the level of job satisfaction experienced by the PAs. The total explanatory power was 49.9%. CONCLUSION: It was found that job stress, positive psychological capital, and total clinical career were influencing factors in the job satisfaction of PAs. Therefore, to improve their job satisfaction, it is necessary to develop strategies to manage the job stress experienced by PAs, and to strengthen and develop positive psychological capital.
Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Job Satisfaction ; Physician Assistants ; Stress, Psychological

PURPOSE: Effective trauma resuscitation requires efficient and coordinated care from a team of providers; however, providers are rarely instructed on how to be effective members of trauma teams. Team-based learning using Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety (TeamSTEPPS) has been shown to improve team dynamics among practicing professionals, including physicians and nurses. The impact of TeamSTEPPS on students being trained in trauma management in an undergraduate health professional program is currently unknown. We sought to determine the impact of TeamSTEPPS on team dynamics among undergraduate students being trained in trauma resuscitation. METHODS: We enrolled teams of undergraduate health professional students from four programs: nursing, physician assistant, radiologic science, and respiratory care. After completing an online training on trauma resuscitation principles, the participants completed a trauma resuscitation scenario. The participants then received teamwork training using TeamSTEPPS and completed a second trauma resuscitation scenario identical to the first. All resuscitations were recorded and scored offline by two blinded research assistants using both the Team Emergency Assessment Measure (TEAM) and Trauma Team Performance Observation Tool (TPOT) scoring systems. Pre-test and post-test TEAM and TPOT scores were compared. RESULTS: We enrolled a total of 48 students in 12 teams. Team leadership, situational monitoring, and overall communication improved with TeamSTEPPS training (P= 0.04, P=0.02, and P=0.03, respectively), as assessed by the TPOT scoring system. TeamSTEPPS also improved the team's ability to prioritize tasks and work together to complete tasks in a rapid manner (P<0.01 and P=0.02, respectively) as measured by TEAM. CONCLUSIONS: Incorporating TeamSTEPPS into trauma team education leads to improved TEAM and TPOT scores among undergraduate health professionals.
Education* ; Education, Professional ; Emergencies ; Health Occupations* ; Humans ; Leadership ; Learning ; Nursing ; Patient Safety ; Physician Assistants ; Resuscitation

In Korea, physician assistants (PAs) have emerged owing to the shortage of medical residents, especially in the surgical departments of tertiary hospitals. In addition, the Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare has been planning to reduce the number of medical residents. Hence, training hospitals decided to hire PAs to replace medical residents. PAs can perform a large part of residents' time-consuming job. However, PAs are not a common type of workforce in the field of dermatology. The aim of this study is to compare the roles of dermatology specialist, resident, PAs, and registered nurse (RN), and discuss the limitations and futures of PAs in the field of dermatology. Moreover, in Korea, the legal definition and status of PAs are absent or, if present, inconsistent. Between PAs and other positions such as residents, registered nurses, and nurse specialists, lies an unsettled conflict. Therefore, if PAs are employed, a more precise complement is needed.
Complement System Proteins ; Dermatology* ; Humans ; Korea ; Physician Assistants* ; Specialization ; Tertiary Care Centers

In Korea, physician assistants (PAs) have emerged owing to the shortage of medical residents, especially in the surgical departments of tertiary hospitals. In addition, the Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare has been planning to reduce the number of medical residents. Hence, training hospitals decided to hire PAs to replace medical residents. PAs can perform a large part of residents' time-consuming job. However, PAs are not a common type of workforce in the field of dermatology. The aim of this study is to compare the roles of dermatology specialist, resident, PAs, and registered nurse (RN), and discuss the limitations and futures of PAs in the field of dermatology. Moreover, in Korea, the legal definition and status of PAs are absent or, if present, inconsistent. Between PAs and other positions such as residents, registered nurses, and nurse specialists, lies an unsettled conflict. Therefore, if PAs are employed, a more precise complement is needed.
Complement System Proteins ; Dermatology* ; Humans ; Korea ; Physician Assistants* ; Specialization ; Tertiary Care Centers

PURPOSE: This is a mixed method study to understand the experience regarding the job satisfaction of Physician Assistant (PA) male nurses. METHODS: First, factors influencing job satisfaction were analyzed using quantitative approach and job adaptation processes by qualitative research was done through interviews. Finally both of the collected data were comprehensively compared. RESULTS: The factors which had the greatest influence on job satisfaction in the regression analysis were job stress (β=-.49, p<.001) and job identity (β=.46, p<.001) and the explanatory power explaining these variables was 58% (Adj. R²=.58). The results of qualitative research were categorized using the same four variables with qualitative research variables. Five themes in job satisfaction, three themes in job identity, five themes in job stress and six themes in job value were identified by content analysis. CONCLUSION: This finding identified that the job stress and job identity were important variables related to job satisfaction. Therefore, the factors influencing job identity have to be strengthened, and a systematic management and interest to develop them are necessary.
Humans ; Job Satisfaction* ; Male* ; Methods ; Nurses, Male* ; Physician Assistants* ; Qualitative Research

PURPOSE: This study was a qualitative study done to investigate the experience of role conflict by physician assistant nurses. METHODS: The basis for this study was qualitative research using the phenomenological method. Research participants were 10 physician assistant nurses. Data collection methodology was in-depth interviews. The interviews were conducted 1 to 2 times and each interview lasted within the range of 45 minutes to 2 hours. The data collection and analysis were carried out simultaneously and the Colaizzi (1978) methodology was adopted for data analysis. RESULTS: The results showed 46 significant statements, 13 meaningful statements, 7 themes, and 3 clusters of themes. The 3 clusters of themes were: ‘Identity conflict’, ‘Relationship role conflict’ and ‘Institutional role conflict’. CONCLUSION: The findings from this study suggest that legal status guarantees have to be prepared in order to resolve the role conflict of physician assistant nurses.
Data Collection ; Humans ; Jurisprudence ; Methods ; Physician Assistants ; Qualitative Research ; Statistics as Topic

PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate the current statistics of professional medical support staffs(PMSSs) working in general hospitals with less than 500 beds. METHODS: This study was conducted on 35 general hospitals with less than 500 beds from September 11th to October 27th, 2017. RESULTS: Four hundred fifty one PMSSs were currently providing medical support. The number of clinical nurse experts was the highest among the roles, followed by Physician Assistants(PA) and Advanced Practice Nurses. The mean job satisfaction score was 3.07 out of 5. In the case of PA group, most of the delegated prescriptions were performed, however the delegated roles were not much documented in written format. The paucity of documentation requires a development of a committee for PMSSs, including a development of selection criteria and a scope of practice in each institution. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggested the composition of a committee for PMSSs in the medical institutions and renaming the specified titles of PMSSs.
Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Job Satisfaction ; Nurse Clinicians ; Nurse Practitioners ; Nursing ; Patient Selection ; Physician Assistants ; Prescriptions

PURPOSE: This study was intended to investigate the frequency of job performance of the Korean professional medical support staffs (PMSS).METHOD: The data of 1,666 PMSS from 36 hospitals and over 500 beds were analyzed. The participants were divided into 5 groups: advanced practice nurses (APN), clinical nurse experts, physician assistants (PA), coordinators, and others.RESULTS: Among the 5 main domains of job performance, advanced clinical practice has the highest frequency (111.36 d/y), followed by consultation/collaboration (75.66 d/y), education/counseling (53.54 d/y), leadership (23.90 d/y), and research (19.14 d/y). There was a significant difference in the frequency of job performance between the 5 groups of participants. The invasive activities were more frequent in the PA group. In the education and counseling domain, APNs had a higher level of job frequency than others (p < .001). In the research and leadership domains, APNs and coordinators had more prominent performance frequency than other groups (p < .01). However, there are some ambiguities in the job performance of the 5 groups depending on institutional characteristics.CONCLUSION: To establish the scope of work of PMSS, organizational and individual efforts are needed to promote and expand the leadership and research domains. To resolve the ambiguities of PMSS' roles, it is necessary to reorganize their titles.
Counseling ; Education ; Humans ; Job Description ; Leadership ; Methods ; Nurse Clinicians ; Physician Assistants ; Work Performance

We compared and contrasted physician assistant and physical therapy profession admissions processes based on the similar number of accredited programs in the United States and the co-existence of many programs in the same school of health professions, because both professions conduct similar centralized application procedures administered by the same organization. Many studies are critical of the fallibility and inadequate scientific rigor of the high-stakes nature of health professions admissions decisions, yet typical admission processes remain very similar. Cognitive variables, most notably undergraduate grade point averages, have been shown to be the best predictors of academic achievement in the health professions. The variability of non-cognitive attributes assessed and the methods used to measure them have come under increasing scrutiny in the literature. The variance in health professions students' performance in the classroom and on certifying examinations remains unexplained, and cognitive considerations vary considerably between and among programs that describe them. One uncertainty resulting from this review is whether or not desired candidate attributes highly sought after by individual programs are more student-centered or graduate-centered. Based on the findings from the literature, we suggest that student success in the classroom versus the clinic is based on a different set of variables. Given the range of positions and general lack of reliability and validity in studies of non-cognitive admissions attributes, we think that health professions admissions processes remain imperfect works in progress.
Educational Measurement ; Health Occupations ; Humans ; Physical Therapists* ; Physician Assistants* ; Reproducibility of Results ; School Admission Criteria ; Uncertainty ; United States*

PURPOSE: Many physician assistant (PA) programs have recently integrated cultural competency into their curricula. However, there is little evidence of the longitudinal effectiveness of such curricula on culture competency. This study tested whether the amount of exposure to a cultural competency curriculum affected self-assessments of cultural awareness in two cohorts of students. METHODS: Cohort 1 and Cohort 2 students completed a cultural awareness survey at the beginning of the program and retook the survey at three intervals during the first year. RESULTS: Regression analyses confirmed a significant linear relationship (two-tailed 0.05) between the responses and the interval number on all questions for each cohort, with the exception of Question 8, on the ability to identify discrimination, for Cohort 2. CONCLUSION: Results from Cohort 2 replicated those from Cohort 1, suggesting that cultural awareness among PA students benefits from repeated exposure to lessons on cultural competency. Schools attempting to develop or expand cultural awareness among students should consider integrating cultural competency training throughout the PA curriculum.
Cohort Studies* ; Cultural Competency* ; Curriculum* ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Education, Medical ; Humans ; Longitudinal Studies* ; Physician Assistants* ; Self-Assessment ; United States*