Nurse practitioners and physician assistants: do they have a role in your practice?

During the next decade, pediatricians will confront the difficult challenge of providing quality health care services to more children with more diverse and difficult problems, and they will have little or no additional funding to accomplish this task. Despite earlier predictions of surpluses in the pediatric work force, there are now shortages that will worsen if the current trend persists. Pediatric nurse practitioners (PNPs) and some physician assistants are being trained to perform health supervision care and to diagnose and treat the common illnesses of children. Substantial evidence suggests that PNPs provide quality health care services, and that collaborative teams of pediatricians and PNPs can provide high-quality, cost-effective care to a broader spectrum of children than can be served by either professional alone.