J Korean Acad Nurs Adm.  2023 Mar;29(2):155-168. 10.11111/jkana.2023.29.2.155.

Job Roles of the Physician Assistants Working in the Surgical Departments of Tertiary Hospitals in Korea: Content Analysis

• Lim HS
• Cho Chung HI
• Choi KJ

• KMID: 2549348
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.11111/jkana.2023.29.2.155

Abstract

Purpose
This qualitative study aimed to identify the detailed job roles of physician assistants working in surgical departments of tertiary hospitals in Korea.
Methods
Data were collected via individual in-depth interviews and analyzed using a content analysis method. Participants were 19 physician assistants (PAs), each of whom had been working for more than one year in tertiary hospitals.
Results
Overall, 348 codes were extracted and clustered into 75 subcategories (job roles). Thereafter, 75 subcategories were classified into three categories (nursing roles, medical residents’ roles, and physicians’ roles). Among 75 PA job roles, 1 (1.3%) was a nursing role, 7 (9.3%) were nursing or medical residents’ roles, and 67 (89.4%) were physicians’ roles. Physicians’ roles were mostly surgery-associated functions performed in a variety of settings in numerous different ways.
Conclusion
Establishing educational systems, qualification standards, and payment systems for the PAs and legalizing their professional status are necessary.

Keyword

Physician assistants; Qualitative research; Roles