The first two Physician Assistants (PAs), in the province will start their clinical shifts January 8 as part of a prototype project at the Saanich Peninsula Hospital (SPH) Emergency Department. A celebration will be held in the SPH Chapel the first day to welcome them.
Although new to BC, Physician Assistants are being used worldwide to help provide health care. In Canada, the Canadian Armed Forces were the first to adopt the Physician Assistant model in 1984 and were introduced into the Canadian public healthcare system (under the title of Clinical Assistant in 1999 and later as PAs) in Manitoba in 2009, and in Ontario in 2007.
Physician Assistants' practice differs across Canada depending on provincial laws, regulation, and jurisdiction of practice. In BC, PAs work under a supervising Emergency Department physician. Depending on the care activity or restricted activity and their competency and experience, they practice under a combination of assignment, delegation, and direct supervision of an ED Physician.
More information on our new Physician Assistants and the project will be shared in the weeks to come.
Please join us in welcoming our first PAs to Saanich Peninsula Hospital and to the Island Health team!
If you have any questions about Physician Assistants, feel free to contact donna.meadows@islandhealth.ca or robert.parker@islandhealth.ca.