Boychuk, Gillian2026-05-292026-05-292025-06-202026-05-29http://hdl.handle.net/1993/39804Abstract Introduction: Physician assistants (PAs) are highly educated medical generalists who extend physician services to help provide preventative, reproductive, obstetrical/gynecological, and acute/chronic care across the lifespan within a family medicine setting. Canadian literature is currently lacking studies highlighting the utility, practice scope, and overall efficiency of primary care PAs focusing on women’s healthcare. Established PAs in women’s healthcare in the Netherlands and United States (US) can serve as a model for women’s health advancement in Canada. Objectives: The primary aim was to determine and observe the utilization, practice scope, and efficiency of a single primary care PA concentrating on women’s healthcare in an urban family medicine setting. Our analysis involved determining type, length and number of services, follow-up plans, number and type of referrals, and total appointment time including education. The secondary aim was to compare Dutch and American women’s health PAs with Canadian PAs, specifically in terms of utility, scope, and capacity. Methods: In this observational reflective analysis, the PA collected non-demographic, non-identifying patient information about women’s health visits over 80 days to define daily clinical duties through quantitative measures. Data was collected on Excel by the PA and stored on a locked computer in the clinic. Results: The PA extended physician capacity by providing 350 additional services across diverse categories to 306 unique patients over 80 days. Preventative care services comprised the most significant volume of services provided (22.6%), followed by acute care (22.0%), reproductive care (21.4%), chronic care (19.1%), and other care (14.9%). Fertility, menopause, breast health, and breastfeeding were low-volume services. Dutch and American PAs have greater autonomy and utility in women’s health compared to our Canadian PA. Conclusion: This study explored the utilization, practice scope, and efficiency of a primary care PA concentrating on women’s health by tracking patient volume, services (preventative, acute, reproductive, chronic, and other care), education time, and referrals over 80 days. Women’s health PAs are essential for optimizing access to care due to their diverse practice scope and unique roles. Adopting international women’s health PA models for practice in Canada would be invaluable to women’s healthcare access.engmanuscript