collaborator

Physician assistants have always worked closely with doctors to improve patient care and reduce hospital stays. However, there are now efforts to give them more independence in their practice. From the creation of the profession, physician assistants have been trained to collaborate closely with their physician counterparts. This allows an increased patient access to care and also decreases patient length of stay in the hospital through an effective team approach, according to the AAPA. Although physician assistants were initially created to be extensions of physicians, there are currently changes in policy underway at this time to guide more independent practice for these providers.