The role of the primary care PA.

At a time when roles of various allied health care providers frequently overlap, it is important to clearly delineate who does what, so there is less provider and patient confusion. In the case of the PA, it is also advantageous to determine periodically whether there are new functions to the role previously not described in the literature. The roles of primary care PAs were validated by using a mail survey developed through a review of PA roles frequently mentioned in the literature. The survey was sent to 47 training programs and 222 Emory University PA graduates working in primary care and non-primary care practices. Mean and median scores for each role per respondent category are reported and compared with mean differences between groups about role perceptions. Strong agreement occurred between and among respondent groups for PA roles dealing with documentation of health status, analysis of data, formulation and conduction of treatment and/or management plan, management of life-threatening emergencies, and patient education. From these data, competencies, performance criteria, and objectives can be generated for each validated role to assist in creating a competency-based curriculum for PAs.