If you’re fond of people, want to give back to the community, and are passionate about helping others live their best lives, you may have considered a career in the medical industry. But do you know where your skills and passions fit best? There are so many different positions and medical professions that you can potentially enter.
Have you ever considered being a physician assistant? These professionals play a big role in the medical setting. More than working with physicians and lending a hand in patient care, they also contribute to a plethora of other roles and perform important duties.
If you’re keen on a career as a physician assistant, here’s your guide on everything about the physician assistant profession, educational requirements, their roles and daily duties, plus the future job outlook for the career.
What is a Physician Assistant?
Healthcare professionals in any setting usually work with teams. These teams are composed of doctors, nurses, surgeons, and physician assistants. They work with other medical professionals to diagnose, treat, and improve the lives of patients.
While their job title can give the impression that they merely assist doctors and other medical professionals, PAs are actually primary healthcare providers. They take on a wide spectrum of jobs that improve patient care, making it easier for them to get the treatment that they need.
Some of the roles that a physician assistant takes on include:
Studying and analyzing a patient’s medical history
Performing physical exams
Interpreting health and diagnostic tests
Working with other members of the healthcare team
Making accurate diagnoses of the patient’s health condition, illnesses, and injuries
Documenting patient information
Communicating patient information and needs to other medical professionals
Providing health maintenance and disease prevention prescriptions to patients.
As can be seen from their primary roles, physician assistants are very valuable members of a medical team. Serving as a principal healthcare provider, these professionals take on tasks that improve a patient’s well-being from diagnosis all the way to treatment and maintenance.
History of the Physician Assistant Profession
The emergence of physician assistants began in 1965, when an MD of the Duke University Medical Center, Eugene A Stead Jr., put together four Navy Hospital Corpsmen who had medical training and taught them according to a doctor’s training curriculum used in World War II.
This initiative started by Stead was an effort to remedy the lack of primary care physicians that the world experienced in the 1960s. When the first-ever batch of PAs graduated in 1967, the federal government supported the initiative and hailed it as an effective remedy to the shortage of primary healthcare professionals.
As a result, the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) was established. The first members were the navy corpsmen who graduated from the PA program at Duke University Medical Center.
The rest of the medical community also supported the initiative and constructed different curriculums, accreditation standards, certification examinations, and other educational requirements to breed new physician assistants that will lend their skills and expertise to the medical and healthcare industry.
From four initial members, the PA profession has flourished, now with thousands of members across the globe conducting primary healthcare services and improving the lives of millions of patients.
Educational Requirements for a Physician Assistant Degree
If you’re thinking about pursuing a career as a physician assistant, you will need to get your PA degree first. Usually, the educational requirement for a PA career is a 4-year bachelor’s degree plus a 2-year master’s or post-graduate program. A person needs to have ideally 6 years of education to be able to be accepted in the PA profession.
There are, however, some programs that only require a 4-year medical or science-related course to be admitted into the profession. Ultimately, it depends on the program that you are taking and the university where you will be obtaining your PA education.
Most accredited PA programs have strict standards that potential students need to meet before they can be accepted into the program. These include college education with anatomy, chemistry, and biology units. Some programs go a little further and require patient-care experience as a hands-on paramedic, medical assistant, nurse, nursing assistant, and medical technician, among others.
Candidates who are admitted into the PA program take courses on anatomy, diagnosis, medical ethics, pathology, and other areas of study in the medical industry. After they graduate, they will need to pass the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination and obtain a professional PAs license. Every after 10 years, PAs need to take a recertification test again to refresh their licenses.
The Physician Assistant Practice
After graduation and certification, new PAs have a very fulfilling job ahead of them. They will work with doctors, nurses, and other members of a medical team across different fields, helping provide primary healthcare to patients.
Medical Fields Where Physician Assistants Practice
Physician assistants have the training and education to excel in a variety of roles and specializations. They can be found across a vast number of medical fields. The 2018 statistical profile by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants found these fields and specializations as the most common areas of PA practice:
General practice or family medicine - 19.2%
Surgical subspecialties - 18.5%
Emergency medicine - 13%
Internal medicine subspecialties - 9.4%
Internal medicine general practice - 4.7%
Dermatology - 4%
Hospital medicine - 3.5%
General surgery - 2.9%
Pediatrics - 1.9%
Obstetrics or gynecology - 1.5%
This is only the top 10 list of common PA areas of practice, a physician assistant can be a valuable member of medical teams across a broad range of medical fields.
Daily Duties of a Physician Assistant
Physician assistants perform a wide range of duties on a daily basis. Although they support physicians and are supervised by them, PAs usually perform their duties very independently. A typical day in the life of a physician assistant would include tasks such as:
Making rounds and checking on patients and progress
Performing health and medical exams
Diagnosing illnesses and injuries
Supporting and assisting in surgery
Analyzing and interpreting lab test results, x-rays, and other medical exam documents
Prescribing the correct medications for a patient’s particular needs
Developing and implementing treatment plans
Conducting counseling sessions on preventative care and health maintenance.
What Does a Physician Assistant Do: Things You May Not Know
One of the responsibilities of a physician assistant is to be very versatile and be able to adapt to a vast array of different tasks and job scopes, depending on the needs of the team and the patients. So a typical day in the life of a PA can change according to unique circumstances. The outline above shows you what you can expect in a PA career. But here are some things that most people don’t know about physician assistants.
They have the authority to order and interpret advanced imaging studies like CT and MRI scans.
In many instances, they perform different medical procedures such as serial casting, cardiac procedures, and setting fractures.
Physician assistants have the authority to prescribe narcotics as long as they receive a DEA registration.
Physician assistants are different from physician’s assistants. The former are qualified and certified primary healthcare providers. The latter is trained for administrative and clinical duties to support physicians but do not necessarily work independently as a principal medical professional.
Physician assistants are among the highest-paid medical professionals.
A PA license needs to be renewed every 10 years. This is called recertification and would require PAs to take a test and pass to continue their practice.
Is Being a Physician Assistant Worth It?
Contrary to popular belief, PAs don’t just follow other medical professionals around and support them in their medical duties. Instead, PAs are independent and primary healthcare providers who take on very important jobs that directly affect patient care and wellness. It’s a very valuable, noble, and fulfilling career to pursue.
Further, a career as a PA can have a great return on investment. The job outlook foresees continuous growth for the profession, being among the fast-growing and most in-demand professions in the medical industry. PAs also have competitive salaries that amount to just a little below what MDs are paid.
What’s the Difference Between a Physician Assistant, Medical Assistant, and Nurse Practitioner?
Physician assistants are commonly mistaken as either a medical assistant or nurse practitioner. But these three are different members of medical teams and perform different duties.
Physician Assistant vs. Medical Assistant
Physician assistants are licensed primary healthcare providers who perform advanced medical duties independently or under the supervision of a physician. On the other hand, medical assistants are entry-level medical professionals who perform administrative and clinical tasks. Usually, medical assistants do not have licenses and only perform duties that support the primary doctor. Compared to physician assistants, they are less hands-on in terms of patient care.
Considering that medical assistants mostly take on administrative duties, the educational requirements for this profession are not as strict as those for PAs. Typically, they only need to complete a 2-year associate’s degree and 1-year certification program. Medical assistants who would want to get certified can take an accredited training program and pass the certifying exam.
On the other hand, the educational requirements for a physician assistant are much stricter and voluminous, considering that these professionals have advanced, disease and patient-related duties. To become a physician assistant, one needs to earn a master’s degree and pass the national certifying exam to get a PA license.
Physician Assistant vs. Nurse Practitioner
Physician assistants and nurse practitioners are also commonly mistaken as one and the same. However, their duties and approaches greatly differ. Physician assistants follow a disease-centered model, as opposed to the patient-centered model that nurse practitioners abide by.
The difference is that physician assistants, being disease-centered, focus on biological and pathological health components. Their main duties span medical assessments, diagnosis, and treatment. Physician assistants take on more advanced duties such as conducting medical examinations, inspecting medical results, and creating treatment plans.
On the other hand, nurse practitioners are patient-centered. This means that they focus on the patients themselves, helping prevent diseases and educating the patient on disease prevention and health maintenance. The work of a nurse practitioner may be limited to preventive care and maintenance.
Is a Physician Assistant Above a Nurse Practitioner?
Both a physician assistant and a nurse practitioner take on very valuable duties and are important members of a medical team. Neither of the two is above the other, both being very noble and fulfilling professions.
Which one you should pursue would just depend on your preferences, as well as your expectations when it comes to the job. To give you a better idea, let’s take a look at the salaries of the two professions.
Considering that there is more demand for physician assistants, their wages can be higher compared to nurse practitioners. PAs can earn a median annual wage of $112,260. On the other hand, nurse practitioners have a median annual wage of $109,820.
Job Outlook for Physician Assistants
Physician assistants emerged in the 1960s because of a great need for more primary healthcare providers. And this concept has not changed. PAs are still very valuable and in-demand members in the medical profession. In fact, trends show that the PA profession is one of the fastest-growing medical careers.
From the years 2019 to 2029, the job growth for the PA profession is expected to grow 31% faster than the average for all medical occupations. This is owing to the high demand for healthcare services and primary healthcare providers, hence the need for more physician assistants.
With the massive demand for these professionals also comes the rise of new programs that can mold and train future PAs to jump into the medical profession. If you’re thinking about pursuing a career as a physician assistant, now is a good time to start.
This career is only projected to flourish, opening doors to more opportunities for better healthcare services that improve the lives of patients and change the game for the medical industry.
