Things That Are Good To Know Before Pursuing Your Career As A Physician Assistant

By Author: J.J. Yong
Total Articles: 963
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The physician assistant's profession has existed since 1965 after the first PA program was offered at Duke University. At present, there are over 135 training modules in this field. Such is a testimony that the demand for this job continues to increase.

Most of these programs require its applicants to have a prior two-year college education and some working experience in the health care industry. Examples of jobs in the health care field include emergency medical technician, ambulance attendant, licensed practical nurse and health educator. Due to further intensified competition, most PA programs require the applicants to have a bachelor's degree in any fields and about four years of experience in the wellness industry.

Most members of this profession are males. Nevertheless, the number of females has increased nowadays as 58% of all active PAs are females. Physician assistants' roles are legally associated with a supervising physician. They can perform most tasks traditionally restricted to be done by physicians. These include such tasks as taking the patient's medical history, examining and treating patients, ...
... treating minor injuries, providing injections, counselling patients, interpreting laboratory tests and performing therapies.

A majority of these professionals practise within primary care areas. About 28% of these involve in family practice. Other common areas of practice include emergency medicine, general surgery and other surgical sub-specialities. Not all professionals assume clinical role as some are involved in research, teaching, administration and other non-clinical roles.

Like many professionals, PAs are regulated at different levels. While licensing is done on the state level, certification is done on the national level. This certification requires potential physician assistants to pass the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE), an exam that consists of 360 multiple-choice questions.
For more information about becoming a physician assistant and online physician assistant program, visit PhysicianAssistantCareer.com.