The PA/NP Task Force continues its work to refine a draft of its report. The group will meet again in February to consider suggested edits from various groups represented on the task force.
Two main tenets of the task force have emerged and will remain unwavering throughout any draft iterations –
A timeline for the Task Force to deliver a final report has not been determined.
In the summer of 2018, Dr. Paul Kivela, ACEP’s president at that time, expressed interest in exploring the future of emergency medicine (EM) practice. There were many concerns, including the economics of practice, future workforce needs, the role of physician assistants (PAs) and nurse practitioners (NPs), the consolidation of the employment market, to name just a few. To determine the most important first steps in this discussion, Dr. Kivela appointed a Board-level workgroup to discuss the issues and suggest the first steps.
Dr. Kivela appointed Christopher Kang, MD, FACEP to serve as chair. Others appointed to the workgroup were James Augustine, MD, FACEP; Nida Degesys, MD; Alison Haddock, MD, FACEP; Kevin Klauer, DO, EJD, FACEP; and Debra Perina, MD, FACEP. Dr. Sandra Schneider served as staff liaison.
The group recommended a task force composed of stakeholders in the provision of care of emergency patients, including AACEM, AAEM, AAENP, ACOEP, AMA, EMRA, NAEMSP, RAMS, RSA, SAEM, and SEMPA.
The workgroup suggested that the primary objective be: recommend the scope of practice for PAs and NPs in the ED, considering such factors as membership growth, education, training and experience, patient acuity, employment models, and the utilization of adjuncts such as telemedicine and other forms of oversight.
Task force appointed - September 2018
In-person task force meetings - ACEP18 and LAC19
Report to the ACEP Board of Directors - October 2019 meeting (first draft)
Endorsement request to representative organizations - January 2020
Feedback from representative organizations reviewed - Beginning February 2020
ACEP Representatives:
Dan Freess, MD, FACEP – Chair
Savoy Brummer, MD, FACEP
Kathleen Cowling, DO, FACEP
Susan Derry, MD
Zach Jarou, MD
Gabor Kelen, MD, FACEP
Linda Lawrence, MD, FACEP
Leslie Mukau, MD, FACEP
John Rogers, MD, FACEP
Nathan Schlicher, MD, JD, MBA
Phillip Shayne, MD, FACEP
Suzi Siegel, MD, FACEP
Sullivan Smith, MD, FACEP
Tom Sugarman, MD, FACEP
John Sy, DO, FACEP
Representatives from Other Organizations:
AACEM – Andrew Nugent, MD, FACEP
AAEM – Robert Frolichstein, MD
AAEM/RSA – Gabriel Stahl, MD
AAENP – Paula Fessler, RN, MS, NP; Elda Ramirez, RN, MSN, FNP
ABEM – Deepi Goyal, MD, FACEP
ACOEP – Joseph Beirne, DO, FACEP, FACOEP-D
CORD – Danielle Hart, MD
EMRA – Jason Lesnick, MD
ENA – Michael Gooch, DNP
SAEM – Mark Courtney, MD, MSCI, FACEP
SAEM/RAMS – Chad Mayer, MD, PhD
SEMPA – Fred Wu, MHS, PA-C; Dayna Jaynstein, MSPAS, PA-C