Opinions of supervisors of clinical associates in South African district hospitals.

Objective: To determine the opinions of supervising physicians about the introduction of clinical associates at South African district hospitals in 2012.

Methods: Twenty-four healthcare professionals in Gauteng and North West provinces were selected to participate in cross-sectional qualitative interviews exploring their opinions on the clinical practice of clinical associates, the effect of the new cadre, their achievements, and the concerns of the supervisors. The inductive content analysis process generated several themes.