Additions to Departments of Medicine

To the Editor: In his Sounding Board article (Sept. 17 issue), 1 Bogdonoff suggested that university medical centers add "trained aides" (physician assistants or nurse practitioners) to the training programs in their departments of medicine to help with bedside care. He indicated that over the years the trained aides would become proficient in using the resources of the medical center but that their areas of primary responsibility would be determined over time. Physician assistants and nurse practitioners are already filling a much more expanded role than that envisioned by Bogdonoff. Our experience since the 1960s and that of others with various . . . No extract is available for articles shorter than 400 words.