Physician Assistant

Physician assistants are increasingly an important component in the level of medical care provided to the aging population in the United States.  In order to be accepted to begin a physician assistant program, you must have completed all the requirements for a Bachelor of Science degree, typically with a pre-med focus. There are some intensive post-graduate courses which will segue into the same beginning point—acceptance into physician assistant programs. 

Once the student has been admitted to one of the accredited programs for physician assistant training, they will follow a grueling 108 week program which is very similar to the 153 weeks for the MD degree.  Many of the classes are taken alongside those people going for the MD degree.

The course of study for a physician assistant is designed to complement that of the physician, in order to provide a better level of quality care for the patients. In addition to formal classroom training, rotations in internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, geriatric medicine, emergency medical, obstetrics and gynecology among others.  Once the formal training is completed, the physician assistant is required to pass a national competency examination before licensure.  In order to maintain licensure, the PA must complete 100 hours of coursework in continuing education every two years and must retake the examination every six years

Most physician assistants work for large medical facilities, often assigned to a specific physician or team where the median 2004 salary would be in the $78,000 range.  Job prospects are very good particularly in rural and inner city clinics.

Further information can be found by checking the following websites.

American Academy of Physician Assistants Information Center, 950 North Washington St., Alexandria, VA 22314-1552. Internet: http://www.aapa.org.

National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants, Inc., 12000 Findley Rd., Suite 200, Duluth, GA 30097. Internet: http://www.nccpa.net.