title: Physician assistants reduce resident workload and improve care in an academic surgical setting.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Educational demands coupled with restricted hours reduce residents' availability to provide care at academic hospitals. Physician assistants (PAs) may address this issue. This study assessed the effect of PAs on patient discharges, resident workload, and resident perceptions of PAs on a surgical team.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two PAs were employed on teams caring for complex surgical patients. Measures included time of discharge order entry, hours residents spent on the electronic medical record (EMR), and resident opinions of PA effectiveness.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The teams with PAs had a 0.5% late discharge and 16% early discharge rate. Junior residents with a PA on the team spent fewer hours on the EMR. Residents reported PAs significantly improved their rotation and quality care.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  PAs reduce resident workload and improve care on surgical teams in a tertiary hospital.
authors.affiliation: At Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Natalie Dies and Saira Rashid practice in the Department of General Surgery; Maureen Shandling is the senior vice president of medical affairs and a practicing neurologist; Carol Swallow is the chair of the Division of General Surgery at University of Toronto, professor in the Department of Surgery, and a practicing surgical oncologist; Alexandra M. Easson is an assistant professor in the Department of Surgery and Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation and a practicing surgical oncologist; and Erin Kennedy is an associate professor in the Department of Surgery and Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation and a practicing colorectal surgeon. The authors have disclosed no potential conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise.
authors.forename: Natalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Dies
authors.forename: Saira
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rashid
authors.forename: Maureen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shandling
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Swallow
authors.forename: Alexandra M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Easson
authors.forename: Erin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kennedy
mesh_terms: D000046:Academic Medical Centers / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards*; D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D005260:Female; D013502:General Surgery / Q000193:education / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D008297:Male; D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling; D010823:Physician Assistants; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D014940:Work Schedule Tolerance / Q000523:psychology; D016526:Workload / Q000523:psychology*