Creating a committee for AHPs

"NPs and PAs are here to stay. We need to bring them to the table; they have a pivotal role in providing healthcare here at the hospital," says Cindy Radcliffe, CPMSM, director of medical staff services at St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton, California. It was with this mentality that St. Jude Medical Center created an allied health committee earlier this year. The committee is for nurse practitioners (NP) and physician assistants (PA) who are credentialed and privileged through the medical staff services department (MSSD), but are not allowed to be appointed to the medical staff (per California state law). Meetings are held once a quarter, and NPs and PAs are required to attend 50% of meetings during their appointment cycle. The meetings are similar to medical staff department meetings, but also incorporate peer review and privileging. According to a news brief in the hospital's medical staff newsletter, the committee was created to "help ensure the quality and consistency of medical staff services provided by PAs and NPs as well as provide a vehicle for education, feedback, and peer review."

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