The aging of both the current healthcare workforce and the population in general, coupled with the dramatic healthcare reform facing the country, has increased the demand for many healthcare professionals and expanded the roles and skill sets for existing professionals.
The role of allied health professionals (AHP) continues to grow every year across the country. AHPs have become one of the backbones of providing patient care, and their presence is ever more key to the operation of hospitals and other healthcare facilities.
As we have noted in a prior article, there are multiple midlevel practitioners crowding around the operating room table, with one profession standing out amid these often confusing and blurred roles-the RN first assistant, otherwise known as the RNFA.
Editor's note: This is the fourth and final article in MSB's allied health practitioner series by Patricia A. Furci, RN, MA, Esq., and Samuel J. Furci, MPA, of Furci Associates, LLC, in West Orange, N.J.
As multiple mid-level practitioners crowd around the operating room table, one profession stands out amid these often confusing and blurred roles: the registered nurse first assistant, otherwise known as the RNFA. An RNFA is an experienced perioperative (operating room) nurse who has completed...
In November, 2012, the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) announced that it now offers fellowship designation to nurse practitioners (NP), physician assistants (PA), and hospital medicine practice administrators. According to the SHM's press release, it is the only medical...
