A career as a Physician Assistant (PA) requires one to enjoy working with and helping patients, have the ability to act quickly and calmly in an emergent situation, and have an appreciation for the study of medicine.
Physician Assistants practice medicine under the direct supervision of physicians and surgeons, and are considered and extension of the physician. The role of the Physician Assistant is to perform routine tasks and relieve the physician of these duties.
PAs are formally trained to diagnose, treat, and provide preventative health care services, as delegated by a supervising physician. They also treat minor injuries and suture lacerations, splint or cast injured limbs, fingers, and toes. PAs record medical record documentation, instruct and council patients, and write prescriptions as permitted by law. Many PAs take on administrative duties as well and supervise other practice staff, order supplies, and generally oversee the daily activities of the clinical portion of the practice.
Many Physician Assistants work in primary care offices, such as pediatrics, family medicine, and internal medicine. PAs may also work in specialty practices in surgery, emergency medicine, urgent care, orthopedics, and geriatrics. Hospitals, outpatient clinics, health insurance companies, schools, and the government also employ Physician Assistants.
Physician Assistant education programs are two years and many PA programs have clinical teaching affiliations with medical schools. To qualify for admission to a PA program, some college and healthcare experience is required. Typical PA students have a bachelors degree and approximately four years of experience in a healthcare career, commonly nursing, EMT, or paramedic. PAs receive hands-on clinical training and usually rotate through several areas of specialized medicine, including geriatrics, pediatrics, gynecology, and psychiatry.
Physician Assistants are required to pass the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination, administered by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) and is open only to graduates of accredited PA schools. PAs must log 100 hours of continuing education every two years and sit for a recertification exam every six years.
A physician assistant career can be highly profitable. Learn what it takes to get into physician assistant schools from http://www.careertoolkits.com
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