Frequently Asked Questions About Physician Assistants
Q: What is a physician assistant?
A: A physician assistant (PA) is a health professional licensed by the state to practice medicine as delegated by and with the supervision of a physician. PAs provide a broad range of medical and surgical services that traditionally have been performed by physicians.
A hallmark of physician assistant practice is that PAs work as a member of a team, with their supervising physicians as the leaders of the team. As members of the medical team, PAs diagnose and treat illness. They can meet the needs of patients in a variety of clinical and hospital settings. PAs have long been recognized as quality health care providers.
Q: What does a physician assistant do?
A: As part of their responsibilities, physician assistants perform physical exams, diagnose illnesses, develop and carry out treatment plans, order and interpret lab tests, suture lacerations, apply casts, assist in surgery, provide patient education and preventive health care counseling and provide and prescribe medications.
Q: What kinds of conditions can PAs treat and what situations require physician care?
A: The scope of PAs work corresponds to the supervising physician's practice. In general, a physician assistant and the supervising physician will see patients with the same kinds of illnesses. Supervising physicians determine which patients and what kinds of illnesses they want the PAs to treat. Close consultation between the patient, the PA, and the physician is standard. Physician assistants are taught to know when it is appropriate to have the patient seen by the physician. It is an important part of PA training.
Q: What is the education process for a PA?
A: The typical applicant to a physician assistant education program has a bachelors degress and four years of health care experience. PA programs look for students who have a desire to study, to work hard, and to be of service. All PA programs are accredited by one independent organization supported by the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Surgeons, and other national medical organizations. Whether located at a college, university, medical school or teaching hospital, all PAs must meet the same national accreditation standards. The typical PA program provides students a broad education in primary care medicine in two phases. The first phase includes lectures and lab sessions in anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, microbiology, medical ethics and similar courses. The second phase is spent in clinical rotations in such specialties as family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, emergency medicine, orthopedics, obstetrics and gynecology, geriatrics, surgery, psychology and other specialties.
A PAs education doesn't stop after graduation. To keep abreast of medical advances, PAs are committed to life-long learning. PAs take continuing medical education classes throughout their career and sit for a national recertification exam every six years.
At LISS, the PAs have advanced training in spine conditions and treatment, as well as operating room experience and assist in all surgical procedures.
Q: Where do physician assistants work?
A: PAs are employed in virtually all types of health care settings -- hospitals, clinics, private physician offices, schools, HMOs and even in the White House as members of the medical team taking care of the President and Vice President. The United States government employs PAs in the military, Veterans Administration, Bureau of Prisons, Public Health Services and other agencies.
Q: What is the difference between a PA and a physician?
A: Physician assistants are training in medicine, just like physicians, and in some programs PAs attend many of the same classes as medical students. Both professions are educated to detect diseases and treat them, and to assist patients in living a healthier lifestyle. A major difference between PA education and physician education is the amount of time spent in their formal education. In addition, physicians are required to do an internship after graduation from medical school, and the majority of physicians complete a residency in a specialty following their internship. PAs are not required to undertake an internship or residency.
Q: Have physician assistants been accepted on the health care team?
A: Most physicians who have worked with physician assistants like having them on staff. The American Medical Association, the American College of Surgeons, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Physicians, and other medical groups support the physician assistant profession by having voting members on the boards that accredit PA educational programs and certify individual PAs. PAs enjoy a collegial relationship with other providers because physician assistants have demonstrated their commitment to their patients and their competence in delivering quality medical care. Their training as team players enables them to work with other providers to ensure appropriate patient care in all settings.
Q: What the the "C" in PA-C mean?
A: Physician assistant-certified. It means that the person who holds the title has passed the certification exam developed jointly by the National Board of Medical Examiners and the National Commission of Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA). The NCCPA is an independent organization and its commissioners represent different national medical organizations and the PA profession. Only graduates of accredited PA educational programs are allowed to take the initial exam. To maintain that "C" after "PA", a physician assistant must log 100 hours of continuing medical education every two years and take the national recertification exam every six years. The certification and recertification exams help ensure there is a core medical and surgical knowlegde that each PA-C should attain and maintain.
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