In the past 10 years, we have observed a rapid acceleration in the number of NPs and PAs in the ARHP. There is great interest in further expanding the number of NPs and PAs providing rheumatologic care—especially in rural and other underserved areas. An exciting development within the College was the recent approval of the NP/PA Rheumatology Curriculum Outline, which can serve as a critical resource to facilitate such training. The ARHP will soon submit an application to the Rheumatology Research Foundation to help secure fellowship training funds to further promote such training. The ARHP is meeting the needs for this additional training through its expanded educational offerings, as described in the June issue of The Rheumatologist.
In other countries, such as Canada and the U.K., training has focused on expanding the scope and advancing the knowledge and skillsets of physical therapists, occupational therapists and nurses to take on triage and follow-up activities in rheumatology practices. Innovative, comprehensive and well-structured programs, such as the Advanced Clinician Practitioner in Arthritis Care (ACPAC) program, ensure that practitioners are appropriately trained to take on extended roles and scopes.
We have initiated a conversation with our colleagues in the Canadian Arthritis Health Professions Association (AHPA) and our respective Research Subcommittees to explore the impact of these differing approaches and models of care on patient outcomes, experience and access to care. The ARHP Practice Committee will host a session on Nov. 6 at 11 a.m. during the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in San Diego on in-person and online continuing education opportunities in the U.S., Canada and abroad. Jointly presented by representatives from the AHPA and the ARHP, this session will be of interest to clinicians, educators and researchers wanting to learn more about these educational offerings aimed at increasing the knowledge and clinical skills for those working in rheumatology. This may lead to further discussion of strategies to address the rheumatology workforce gap in the U.S. and other countries.
Member Outreach
Over the next 18 months, the ARHP Practice Committee will continue its efforts to foster collaborative interdisciplinary professional practice throughout the continuum of care. We will work in partnership with the ACR Committee on Rheumatologic Care (CORC) to improve communication and healthy exchange of ideas across our organization. Two ARHP members who sit on CORC are invited to our meetings to facilitate this communication and solicit feedback from the ACR on new ARHP Practice Committee initiatives.
