The role of the physician extender in radiology.

This article examines the role of the radiology practitioner assistant (RPA), a physician extender first defined in the 1970s. The purpose of the research was to determine RPAs' accuracy in recognizing abnormal image patterns and their ability to independently perform gastrointestinal fluoroscopic procedures. The results support previous research indicating that technologists with additional education, training and radiologist supervision can detect abnormal image patterns and perform fluoroscopy successfully.