Clin Med
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Medical specialty training is changing which will result in shorter, more focused training programmes. Senior house officer posts will disappear from August 2007, and be replaced by training posts and trust grade doctors. ⋯ Curricula development and delivery with quality assurance is now the responsibility of a new training board--the Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board (PMETB). There is an opportunity to create a new specialty of acute medicine to help meet the crisis of care for acutely ill patients in our hospitals.
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The National Health Sevice (NHS) faces a serious shortage of medical staff. One solution is to introduce US-style physician assistants (PAs) who train for around two years following previous clinical work or a first degree, and perform duties similar to junior doctors. This paper reviews the history and role of PAs, the quality of their work and their likely impact in the UK. ⋯ A recent report suggests they have made a substantial contribution to primary care and have improved patient access. For PAs to be successful in the UK, they must be highly regarded practitioners. High quality educational courses must be established to ensure their credibility.