Assistant physician

In the United States, an assistant physician (AP) is a medical doctor or doctor of osteopathic medicine who has graduated from a four-year medical school program and is licensed to practice, in a limited capacity, under the supervision of a physician who has completed their residency. In 2020 the AP licencrs were authorized and issued in Missouri, Kansas, Arizona, Utah, and Arkansas.[1] By 2024 the program has also passed into effect in Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Louisiana, Maryland, Tennessee and Texas.[2] To be licensed, APs must have graduated from medical school and passed the USMLE Step 1 and USMLE Step 2 Clinical Knowledge exams.[3] The expansion of the AP profession aims to provide primary care in underserved areas.[3][4] The position also provides a career pathway for the increasing number of unmatched physician graduates.[5]

In the United Kingdom, before the establishment of the National Health Service in 1948, an AP was a junior physician attached to a hospital.[6][7]

References

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  1. ^ "AAFP Backgrounder - Scope of Practice: Assistant Physicians" (PDF). January 1, 2020. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
  2. ^ https://www.goldwaterinstitute.org/policy-report/removing-barriers-for-associate-physicians-to-expand-healthcare-access/ Goldwater Institute: Policy Report:Removing barriers for Associate Physicians to expand healthcare access.
  3. ^ a b Lieb, David A. (May 14, 2017). "Missouri targets doctor dearth, expands first-in-nation law". AP News. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
  4. ^ Singer, Jeffrey (May 18, 2023). "One simple fix for the primary care shortage: assistant physicians". STAT. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
  5. ^ Van Way, Charles W III (May–June 2021). "Are Assistant Physicians a Good Idea? Should We Create Jobs for Unmatched Physicians?". Missouri Medicine. 118 (3): 179–181. PMC 8210997. PMID 34149069.
  6. ^ Abel-Smith 1964, p. 7.
  7. ^ Peterson 1978, pp. 137, 160, 162.

Works cited

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