Health manpower oversupply: implications for physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants. A model

Development of health manpower can no longer be viewed as an isolated educational problem apart from broader socio-economic considerations. This development results in changes in roles and relationships between professional groups and causes a redefinition of scope of practice and corresponding manpower requirements. A clear example of this thesis is the current redefinition of roles of nurse practitioners and physician assistants as the supply of physicians dramatically increases. The authors propose a general theoretical model based upon the biological sciences which may be used to predict future intraprofessional definitions of scope of practice in other areas. As hospitals and healthcare organizations undertake professional manpower planning on an increasingly organized basis, such projections will increase in significance for policy matters.