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 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

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 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

In the 1960s, a shortage of primary care medical doctors in rural and urban areas of the United States. Coinciding with the above problem, returning military servicemen who had delivered medical care in Vietnam but were unqualified to do so in the U.S. became a social problem of medical systems. One solution was to train these men quickly and allow them to work under the supervision of a doctor. This was the basic reason for the U.S. physician assistant (PA) system. For underserved communities, PAs are necessary 1) as the principal care provider in rural area or inner-city urban clinics with a supervising physician and other medical professionals and 2) to reduce the pressure, working hours and intensity of work of junior doctors or to replace junior doctors with a qualified and trained healthcare provider. In Korea, Pas would not help reduce the pressure and intensity of work for primary care providers, but could do so for residents. Therefore, the well-established PA system, including its education and training system, may be appropriate for Korea. To establish the appropriate PA system in Korea, several factors must be considered. The first is the qualifications for PAs. In Korea, medical doctors and nurses are considered medical personnel but medical technicians and nurse aids are not. To be certified to work as clinical assistants, certification as medical personnel is mandatory. The second is education and certification. Independent schools for PA training would require longer training time and an additional education system. The society of medical association authorized by the Ministry of Health and Welfare may be more suitable for education and training of PAs in Korea than an additional independent education system. Finally, for successful PA system in Korea, the thorough inspection and control of the system by hospitals and also by society of medical association is critical.
Certification ; Health Personnel ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Military Personnel ; Organization and Administration ; Physician Assistants ; Primary Health Care ; Social Problems ; United States ; Vietnam

This study intended to identify the need for the legalization and development of a systematic program for physician assistants (PAs) by understanding the actual state of PA operation in hospitals. In 114 hospitals assigned as resident training hospitals for surgery, a survey was conducted on the personnel working as PAs in those hospitals; the survey included general personal information, working conditions, training time, and satisfaction. A total of 192 PAs in surgery at 35 hospitals responded to the survey. The types of PAs are Surgical Assistant, Clinical Physician Assistant, Wound Ostomy Care Nurse, Coordinator, and Clinical Research Coordinator. Types of work PAs preformed are surgical assistance, wound dressing, educating patients, overlooking consultation, doing paper works, writing operation records, and confirming examination results which were ordered. The satisfaction level for the position which PAs hold were 29.1% and and satisfaction level which doctors see towards PA was 15%. The role and the job descriptions of PAs are not clear cut, there are many discrepancies among hospitals we studied. As a result, legalization and the implementation of standardized role of PAs will lead to increase level of satisfactions in the work force and the quality of work which PAs perform will be greater.
Adult ; Female ; General Surgery ; Humans ; Job Description ; Male ; Physician Assistants/*statistics & numerical data ; Questionnaires ; Republic of Korea ; Task Performance and Analysis ; Workload