The Training Rheum Helps Practices Quickly Onboard NPs & PAs

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Has your practice recently hired a nurse practitioner (NP) or physician’s assistant (PA) to help provide care to a growing patient population? Are you considering hiring, but unsure if you have the time or resources to adequately train someone new to the specialty? The Training Rheum is designed to give your professional staff a solid footing in rheumatology and speed up their full integration into your busy practice.

Registration is now open for The Training Rheum, a multi-day intensive boot camp for NPs and PAs who are new to the profession or transitioning to a rheumatology practice. The ARP, in partnership with the American Academy of Physician Assistants, designed this course to help address the growing workforce shortage in rheumatology.

Courses will be held in Atlanta Aug. 10–12, and in Austin, Texas, Jan. 18–20, 2020. Register your staff online.

The 2015 Workforce Study of Rheumatology Specialists in the United States paints a startling picture of the rheumatology workforce in the next 10 years.¹ For 2015, the excess demand for adult rheumatologists equated to 35.9%. By 2030, the estimated excess demand will be 138%.² Effective strategies to recruit NPs and PAs to support the workforce are necessary to address this anticipated gap.

Despite the need, only about one-quarter of rheumatologists are in a practice with an NP or PA. This suggests there is an NP/PA rheumatology pipeline shortage, and rheumatologists are unaware and uncomfortable with NPs and PAs in their practice. The Training Rheum is designed to address both issues.

“We hear from ACR members the concern that many recent NP and PA graduates do not have exposure to rheumatologic medicine in their graduate programs. This means they are unaware of the specialty and cannot always integrate quickly into a practice,” observes Beth Jonas, MD, chair of the ACR’s Committee on Training and Workforce Issues. “The Training Rheum will provide a well-rounded foundation on essential rheumatology topics.”

A group of physicians, NPs and PAs has created an interactive, case-based curriculum that will expose learners to the most common conditions seen in a rheumatology practice. Included in the course is a hands-on musculoskeletal examination and joint injection workshop.

Register your professional staff today to fast-track their successful rheumatology career.

Questions? Email acrbootcamp@rheumatology.org.

References

1. 1. American College of Rheumatology. 2015 Workforce Study of Rheumatology Specialists in the United States. 2016.
2. 2. Cush J. The big need—NPs and PAs. RheumNow. 2017 Oct 17.