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What is a Physicians Assistant?
Physician Assistants (PAs) are licensed health professionals who practice
medicine with physician supervision. As part of the physician/PA
team, PAs exercise autonomy in diagnosing and treating illnesses.
PAs deliver a broad range of medical and surgical services to
diverse populations in both rural and urban settings throughout
the United States.
Their focus is patient care, and their practice may include
education, research, and administrative activities.
The Role of the Physician Assistant
PAs are highly skilled professionals educated to use the
same medical procedures as their physician counterparts. For
example, PAs take medical histories, perform physical
examinations, diagnose and treat illnesses, order and interpret
laboratory tests, perform minor surgery, and in most states can
prescribe medications. PAs practice in virtually every medical
specialty - from family medicine to surgery.
A hallmark of physician assistant practice is that PAs
practice as part of a team. They are educated to recognize when
patients need the attention of a supervising physician or a
specialist PAs enjoy a collegial relationship with other providers
because they have demonstrated their commitment to patients and
their competence in delivering quality care.
To allow the PA/physician team to be more efficient in
extending care to their patients, most states do not require the
PA and physician to be at the same location. For example, the PA
may be seeing patients in a rural clinic while the supervising
physician is at the hospital or in a central office. All state
laws require the supervising physician to be immediately available
for consultation, usually by telephone, while a PA is seeing
patients.
Education
Physician assistant education is modeled on that of
physicians, although it is shorter. All PA programs must meet the
same stringent requirements for national accreditation.
The first PA program began in 1965 at Duke University in
North Carolina, and the first PAs were former military corpsmen.
Today, the typical PA student already has approximately four years
of health care experience prior to entering a PA program.
Students undergo a rigorous education to become a PA. The
typical program is more than 24 months long. The first year
includes classroom and laboratory instruction in the medical
sciences from anatomy to pharmacology and medical ethics. The
second year involves structured clinical rotations, providing the
PA student with direct patient contact in medical disciplines such
as family practice, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology,
pediatrics, surgery, and emergency medicine.
PA programs are offered by medical schools, colleges and
universities, teaching hospitals, and the military.
PAs Add Up to Better Health Care
Today, the physician assistant profession is one of
health care's fastest-growing fields. PAs help people use the
health care delivery system more effectively and efficiently. They
make quality health care more available by providing those
services needed by patients in a cost-effective way to the
practice. Their training as team players enables them to work with
other providers to ensure appropriate patient care in all
settings. PAs, working with the supervision of physicians, deliver
the highest quality of medical care.
Credentials
Before they can practice, graduates of accredited PA
programs must pass a single national certification exam developed
by the National Board of Medical Examiners and administered by the
National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants. Only
those individuals with CUIrent certification may use the
designation "Physician Assistant- Certified" or "PA-C."
To maintain certification, PAs must earn 100 hours of
continuing medical education every two years and sit for a
recertification exam every six years. These requirements keep them
abreast of medical advances.
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