Physician assistants approved to work in a B.C. hospital for the 1st time

Two physician assistants have started work at the Saanich Peninsula Hospital on Vancouver Island, the first time the profession has been approved to work in a B.C. hospital setting.

Physician assistants (PAs) are medical professionals who work under the supervision of physicians. While they do not possess a medical degree, they are educated through a two-year graduate program under the same medical model used to train doctors.

Although PAs aren't yet considered a "designated health profession" in B.C., two have joined the Saanich Peninsula Hospital as part of a one-year pilot program approved by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C.

Unlike nurse practitioners already working across B.C., physician assistants cannot operate independently from a doctor. The physician's college says PAs are currently only permitted in emergency departments within the B.C. health system.

The medical leader of the hospital's ER says he hopes the introduction of the new professionals — who can perform a broad range of duties, including conducting patient interviews and physical examinations under the guidance of a physician — will help alleviate staffing shortages.

"At the acute care end of things, when we're over capacity at Saanich Peninsula, it really impacts the flow of our patients through the emergency department," Dr. Brendon Irvine told reporters.

"So yes, we hope that this will improve [health-care] access, but it is a whole picture that we need to consider."

The hospital, located around 20 kilometres north of downtown Victoria, has seen its emergency room shut overnight in the past.

"It's an integral part of increasing our human resource, and we will hope to see improvement in hours over time," Irvine said.

Three programs in Canada train physician assistants: the University of Manitoba, the University of Toronto, and McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont.

The Canadian Armed Forces uses physician assistants on its bases, in the field and on its ships and submarines, as do other provinces, including Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and New Brunswick.

'Open the gate' for PAs

The two PAs who have joined Saanich Peninsula are Fu Wu (Fred) Bai and Eric Demers. Demers became a physician assistant while serving with the armed forces in 2010, according to Island Health.

Bai told CBC News that he was a medical geneticist in China before relocating to Manitoba and working as a nurse. He had been a PA in that province since 2012.

The PA said that the profession is common across the world, including China and the U.S. He says that, in his experience, having a PA in an emergency room improves the speed of care.

"I really want to help B.C. to open the gate for this profession," he said.

Irvine says that the Health Ministry and others were involved with bringing the one-year pilot program forward, and the hospital had intentions to eventually bring on a "full complement" of six PAs across the hospital.