ASGE Annual GI Advanced Practice Provider Course (Virtual) (Day One) | March 2026-Shaping the Future: Career Pathways for GI APPs

Pdf Summary

This document outlines career pathways for gastroenterology (GI) advanced practice providers (APPs), highlighting how APPs contribute to patient care and how they can grow into specialized, scholarly, leadership, and procedural roles. APP responsibilities span direct care (new and follow-up outpatient visits, inpatient consults, telemedicine, patient communication/education, triage, informed consent, and selected ancillary procedures) and indirect care (complex care coordination, referral triage, prior authorizations, interpreting diagnostic tests, pre-procedure planning such as anticoagulation and clearance, chart completion, risk stratification, quality improvement, research participation, committee work, advocacy, and scholarly writing).<br /><br />Clinical practice models include inpatient-only, outpatient-only, or hybrid roles, with different visit-sharing structures between physicians and APPs (e.g., physician sees new patients while APP manages follow-ups, or APPs independently see both). Emphasis is placed on “top-of-license” practice—aligning duties with full training and competency—while acknowledging that scope is shaped by federal/state laws, institutional policies, clinical privileges, and payer rules.<br /><br />Subspecialization is presented as a growing opportunity (IBD, hepatology, pancreaticobiliary, motility, advanced endoscopy, and GI oncology), improving access, continuity, and team collaboration while enabling APPs to take on education, research, and leadership responsibilities.<br /><br />Research and scholarship are framed as valuable for professional development, innovation, and practice improvement, with options including case reports, reviews, clinical trials, national presentations, QA projects, and editorial/peer-review work. Key requirements include administrative support, mentorship, training, funding, and protected time; common barriers mirror physician challenges.<br /><br />Additional pathways include CME, teaching (precepting, lecturing, onboarding, regional/national courses), and structured APP fellowship programs that accelerate specialty readiness and retention. Leadership and administrative roles range from lead APP to system-level advanced practice executives, plus society involvement and advocacy (ASGE, AGA, AASLD, ACG, GHAPP, and patient organizations). Industry roles (pharma, devices, digital health) are also described.<br /><br />Finally, the document reviews expanding procedural opportunities (e.g., paracentesis, FibroScan, motility testing, hemorrhoid therapies, and in some settings endoscopy such as TNE, sigmoidoscopy, EGD, colonoscopy), supported by early outcomes data. Mentorship and sponsorship are emphasized as essential across pathways.

Asset Subtitle

Katelyn Cookson, PA-C, and Vivek Kaul, MD, FASGE

Keywords

gastroenterology advanced practice providers

GI APP career pathways

top-of-license practice

inpatient outpatient hybrid practice models

GI subspecialization IBD hepatology motility

care coordination referral triage prior authorizations

telemedicine patient education informed consent

research scholarship quality improvement

APP leadership administration advocacy societies

APP procedural roles paracentesis FibroScan endoscopy