Training of nurse practitioners and physician assistants to perform screening flexible sigmoidoscopy.
OBJECTIVE
To describe the colorectal cancer-screening program at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, a large multispecialty medical group, in which nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) perform screening flexible sigmoidoscopies.


METHODS
Scientific literature, consensus statements and guidelines, and the protocol utilized to train NPs and PAs to perform flexible sigmoidoscopy. Data from 9,500 screening procedures are presented.


CONCLUSIONS
In comparison with gastroenterologists, trained NP and PA endoscopists perform screening flexible sigmoidoscopy with similar accuracy and safety but at lower cost.


CONCLUSIONS
Screening flexible sigmoidoscopy performed by NPs and PAs may increase the availability and lower the cost of flexible sigmoidoscopy for colorectal cancer screening.
Horton
K
K
Division of Gastroenterology, Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, Boston, USA.
Reffel
A
A
Rosen
K
K
Farraye
F A
FA
D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D009722:Nurse Practitioners / Q000193:education*; D010823:Physician Assistants / Q000193:education*; D012812:Sigmoidoscopy