Essay On Becoming A Physician Assistant

Why become a physician assistant (PA) over a doctor (MD) or a registered nurse (RN)? Although the duties of a RN resemble those of a PA, PA’s have more responsibilities and the ability to prescribe medication, plus the salary is a lot better. Of course with more responsibilities comes more education, while RN’s only require a 4-year degree, becoming a PA requires the completion of a 2-3-year physician assistant program. I decided to go for PA instead of MD because I do not want to go to school for another 6 years or put myself hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. As a physician assistant, I get to perform the same duties as a doctor with the exception of surgery; I could assist in surgery only under supervision of a physician. Another reason to choose PA over MD was the flexibility when it comes to specialties. Doctors are required to choose a specialty and
Though it has yet to be accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA), the Northeastern State University website states their physician assistant studies program “anticipates matriculating its first class in July 2019.” Their mission statement is similar to the other programs however; they also mention educating “exceptional physician assistant practitioners with the highest ethical standards and sensitivity for the underserved and American Indian populations.” The estimated tuition cost of the program has yet to be determined. Not much is confirmed from this program but the prerequisites are similar to the other programs in the state and the minimum GPA requirement is a 3.0. The establishment of this program shows how quickly the physician assistant career is expanding. This is great news because it gives applicants more options thus improving their chances of getting into a