Abstract
BackgroundThe role of Surgical Care Practitioner (SCP) was first introduced by the NHS in the field of cardiothoracic surgery more than two decades ago to overcome the chronic shortage of junior doctors, and subsequently evolved into other surgical specialties. This review aims to provide evidence on the current situation of SCPs’ clinical outcomes within their surgical extended role, with an emphasis on the cardiothoracic surgical field.MethodA systematic search of PubMed, Scopus, Embase via Ovid, Web of Science and TRIP was conducted with no time restriction to explore the evidence on SCPs. All included articles were reviewed by three researchers using the selection criteria, and a narrative synthesis was undertaken.FindingsTen out of the 38 studies identified were selected for inclusion. Only one study specifically investigated cardiothoracic SCPs. Three themes were identified: (1) clinical outcomes (six studies), (2) workforce impact (two studies) and (3) colleagues’ opinions (two studies). All studies demonstrated that SCPs provided safe practice, added value and were of benefit to workforce environments and surgical teams.ConclusionAlthough the current literature provides assurances that the presence of SCPs within surgical teams is beneficial in terms of their clinical outcomes, their impact on the workforce and colleagues’ opinions, a significant gap was identified around the SCPs’ role within their surgical extended role, specifically in cardiac surgery. Thus, prospective clinical research is required to evaluate SCPs’ clinical impact.
Highlights
Search strategy A narrative literature review was conducted to provide a comprehensive overview that would facilitate an understanding of the clinical outcomes associated with Surgical Care Practitioner (SCP)
Conclusion: the current literature provides assurances that the presence of SCPs within surgical teams is beneficial in terms of their clinical outcomes, their impact on the workforce and colleagues’ opinions, a significant gap was identified around the SCPs’ role within their surgical extended role, in cardiac surgery
This paper aims to provide evidence on the current situation by systematically searching, reviewing, appraising and synthesising current evidence on the clinical impact of SCPs
Summary
This review aims to provide evidence on the current situation of SCPs’ clinical outcomes within their surgical extended role, with an emphasis on the cardiothoracic surgical field. Across the UK, the National Health Service (NHS) has introduced new professional roles within multidisciplinary teams due to the chronic shortage of doctors and the implementation of the European working time directive [1]. These professions are known as Medical Associate Professions and include Physician Associates (PA), Physicians’ Assistants (anaesthesia) [PA(A)], Advanced Critical Care Practitioners (ACCP) and Surgical Care Practitioners (SCP) [2, 3]. This paper aims to provide evidence on the current situation by systematically searching, reviewing, appraising and synthesising current evidence on the clinical impact of SCPs
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