TY - JOUR
T1 - Core Curriculum to Facilitate the Expansion of a Rheumatology Practice to Include Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants
AU - Smith, Benjamin J.
AU - Bolster, Marcy B.
AU - Slusher, Barbara
AU - Stamatos, Christine
AU - Scott, Jeanne R.
AU - Benham, Heather
AU - Kazi, Salahuddin
AU - Schlenk, Elizabeth A.
AU - Schaffer, Daniel E.
AU - Majithia, Vikas
AU - Brown, Calvin R.
AU - Von Feldt, Joan M.
AU - Flood, Joseph
AU - Haag, David M.
AU - Smarr, Karen L.
N1 - Funding Information:
Supported by the American College of Rheumatology and the Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018, American College of Rheumatology
PY - 2018/5
Y1 - 2018/5
N2 - Objective: Due to an aging population, increasing prevalence of rheumatic disease, and a growing supply and demand gap of rheumatology providers, innovative solutions are needed to meet the needs of persons with rheumatic conditions. Nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) have been identified as a group of health professionals who could help address the workforce shortage. The Executive Committee of the Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals (ARHP), a division of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), charged a task force to facilitate the preparation of NPs/PAs to work in a rheumatology practice setting. Methods: The task force, consisting of private practice and academic rheumatologists, and NPs and PAs, from both adult and pediatric settings, conducted a needs assessment survey of current NPs and PAs to identify mechanisms for acquiring rheumatology knowledge. Through face-to-face and webinar meetings, and incorporating stakeholder feedback, the task force designed a rheumatology curriculum outline to enrich the training of new NPs and PAs joining rheumatology practice. Results: Informed by the needs assessment data and stakeholders, an NP/PA rheumatology curriculum outline was developed and endorsed by the ACR Board of Directors for use by community-based and academic rheumatology practices, whether pediatric or adult, who desire to add NPs and PAs to their practice setting. Conclusion: As rheumatology is facing workforce shortages, the ACR/ARHP rheumatology curriculum outline can be utilized to train NPs and PAs and create more efficient integration of NPs and PAs into rheumatology practice.
AB - Objective: Due to an aging population, increasing prevalence of rheumatic disease, and a growing supply and demand gap of rheumatology providers, innovative solutions are needed to meet the needs of persons with rheumatic conditions. Nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) have been identified as a group of health professionals who could help address the workforce shortage. The Executive Committee of the Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals (ARHP), a division of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), charged a task force to facilitate the preparation of NPs/PAs to work in a rheumatology practice setting. Methods: The task force, consisting of private practice and academic rheumatologists, and NPs and PAs, from both adult and pediatric settings, conducted a needs assessment survey of current NPs and PAs to identify mechanisms for acquiring rheumatology knowledge. Through face-to-face and webinar meetings, and incorporating stakeholder feedback, the task force designed a rheumatology curriculum outline to enrich the training of new NPs and PAs joining rheumatology practice. Results: Informed by the needs assessment data and stakeholders, an NP/PA rheumatology curriculum outline was developed and endorsed by the ACR Board of Directors for use by community-based and academic rheumatology practices, whether pediatric or adult, who desire to add NPs and PAs to their practice setting. Conclusion: As rheumatology is facing workforce shortages, the ACR/ARHP rheumatology curriculum outline can be utilized to train NPs and PAs and create more efficient integration of NPs and PAs into rheumatology practice.
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U2 - 10.1002/acr.23546
DO - 10.1002/acr.23546
M3 - Article
C2 - 29667375
AN - SCOPUS:85045714523
VL - 70
SP - 672
EP - 678
JO - Arthritis Care and Research
JF - Arthritis Care and Research
SN - 2151-464X
IS - 5
ER -