Dalhousie University Launches Physician Assistant Program to Enhance Healthcare

Dalhousie University has introduced a new two-year program aimed at training students as physician assistants to address the increasing demands of the healthcare system in Nova Scotia. The initiative is designed to equip students with the skills necessary to work alongside doctors and other healthcare professionals, enhancing patient care in the region.

The program employs the “medical model,” a predominant approach in healthcare that perceives health issues primarily as biological problems requiring professional diagnosis and treatment. Dr. Michael Clory, the assistant dean of the program, explained, “A physician assistant is a medically trained specialist who provides care to patients in a very similar way to physicians. The training is in the medical model so they can actually examine patients, take a history from patients and determine what they think the issue is and order appropriate testing and management.”

In Nova Scotia, the role of physician assistants is relatively new. Students in this program will collaborate with supervising physicians, allowing them to see patients while also consulting on complex cases. This collaborative approach aims to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of healthcare delivery.

Tara Lapointe, a participant in the program, shared her positive experiences. “The first year is all didactic learning, so we learn all about medicine and the medical model. In the second year, we get to do our clerkship, where we are placed in actual areas of medicine such as family medicine, working alongside physician assistants and physicians,” Lapointe noted. “I have felt so valued; it was a really positive experience. Patients were able to see a provider much sooner, and they were very happy to share how much that meant to them.”

The program has the capacity to accept 24 students annually, which means that over five years, it could produce a substantial number of new healthcare providers in Nova Scotia. Dr. Clory emphasized the potential impact of this initiative, stating, “In primary care, we anticipate that physician assistants will allow family practices to accommodate an extra 400 to 600 patients with faster access.”

This new program at Dalhousie University not only addresses the urgent needs of the healthcare system but also contributes to the training of a new generation of healthcare professionals. As the demand for healthcare services continues to grow, the introduction of physician assistants could play a crucial role in enhancing patient care and accessibility in the province.