Physician Assistant

Physician assistants (PAs) represent one of the fastest-growing positions in the healthcare field. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that the need for physician assistants will increase nearly 40 percent over the next decade as 60 million baby boomers enter their senior years and require extensive medical services. In addition, the ongoing lack of primary care doctors practicing today means many new opportunities have emerged for physician assistants.

The Department of Labor further estimates over 40,000 PAs will be hired from 2018 until 2026.

Physician assistants are members of medical teams comprised of doctors, nurses, surgeons or other types of healthcare professionals. They perform examinations, diagnose illnesses, order laboratory and imaging tests, prescribe medication and administer treatment to patients. PAs may also specialize in different medical fields, such as orthopedics, family practice, gastroenterology or cardiology.

Additional duties include:

• Collaborating with members of a patient’s medical care team to offer recommendations regarding treatment plans
• Providing assistance to surgeons performing inpatient or outpatient surgeries
• Interpreting blood tests and imaging scan results
• Counseling patients about their health conditions and prescription medications
• Taking vital signs, drawing blood and treating serious wounds that do not require surgery

The only two differences between a medical doctor (MD) and a physician assistant is that MDs spend nine to 10 years in school and are licensed to operate an independent practice. PAs attend four to five years of school and can only practice in partnership with an MD. PAs cannot practice independently.

Don’t confuse physician assistants with medical assistants (MAs). You do not need formal training or a license to work as a medical assistant. Also, educational requirements for MAs are either earning a vocational certificate or two-year associate’s degree in medical assisting.

Emerging as a direct response to the physician shortage of the 1960s, physician assistants continue to treat patients who have difficulty accessing healthcare. In addition, the continually expanding role of PAs makes it possible for patients to receive specialty care in fields as unique as pediatrics, oncology, geriatrics and neurology. Physician assistants also relieve the heavy load of routine work performed by busy MDs.

When doctors employ PAs as part of their practice, they make it easier and more convenient for patients to receive much-needed healthcare services.

The American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) provides in-depth information about how a pre‑med student can become a PA. The AAPA states that applying to physician assistant schools is highly competitive and recommends students applying during their freshman year at college.

Most PA programs have certain prerequisite courses students must complete before they consider applying. These prerequisites include human physiology and anatomy, chemistry and microbiology. Also required is experience with providing patient care as an intern or through employment. Health care experience can be obtained by being a medical assistant, paramedic, phlebotomist, lab assistant, emergency medical technician, registered nurse or certified nursing assistant.

Physician assistant programs last about three years and culminate in students earning a master’s degree. Programs involve clinical rotations, classroom instruction, and testing. Students will complete over 2,000 hours in several clinical rotations in doctor’s offices, long‑term/acute care facilities and ambulatory clinics offering primary care services. Rotations may also include stints in pediatric, obstetrics/gynecology and psychiatric clinics or hospital wards.

After graduating from an accredited physician assistant program, students can then sit for the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE) given by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA).

Upon passing PANCE, students are eligible to practice as a PA‑C,…