Being A Physician Assistant Essay

Physician assistants are often one of the most misperceived health professions, for many believe that they are medical assistants, those who do routine clinical and clerical tasks, rather than a licensed medical professional. A physician assistant, also known as a PA, “practices medicine on teams with physicians, surgeons, and other healthcare workers” (Bureau of Labor Statistics [BLS], n.d.). The duties of a physician assistant include: take/review patients’ medical histories, examine patients, order/interpret diagnostic tests, diagnose, provide treatment, and prescribe medication. However, physician assistant duties and the extent of supervision by physicians can vary between states. “Physician assistants work in all areas of medicine, including primary care ad family medicine, emergency medicine,
There is no particular major a student needs to have completed a PA program, however, they do need to complete a group of pre-med core classes- chemistry, physiology, anatomy, biology, and microbiology- in order to be considered for the program. Also, most physician assistant programs require that applicants have two to four years of “hands-on” medical experience. Some jobs that would be acceptable options to meet this requirement are EMT, medical assistant, RN, CAN, paramedic, surgical or emergency room technician, or lab assistant. Then, “depending upon the PA program, an applicant may be required to take the GRE or MCAT exam” (Doctorly, n.d.). Job Market Hiring a PA is one od the smartest decisions, because of their flexibility in the types of medicine they can practice and cost less to hire than a physician. “In the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Congress recognized PAs as one of three healthcare professions in primary care” (AAPA, n.d.). As many come to realize the importance of having a PA, the medical field has been seeing an increase in job