“Those who are happiest are those who do the most for others.” Booker T. Washington
In our last post we explored the profession of a physician (medical doctor) and looked at the various specialties one could consider as a trained medical doctors. As our post showed, the training to become a licensed physician can be extensive and expensive so for this post we wanted to look at the profession that is closely aligned with that of a licensed physician and would allow a person to serve in a number of the roles that licensed physicians serve in but does not require the amount of training and expense as what is associated with becoming a licensed physician. That profession is Physician Assistant which is also referred to as a PA.
What Is A Physician Assistant?
Becoming a Physician Assistant (PA) is most likely the next best thing to being an actual licensed physician. To clarify what I mean by that — please note that these individuals are also trained and licensed to preform many of the duties that the licensed physician performs. They work under the supervision of an actual licensed physician and work as part of a team that include other health-care professionals. With the continuing demand on the health care system, PAs have become an essential provider when it comes to making heath care services available for a significantly larger number of individuals. Some of these individuals now have the opportunity to receive continual medical care thanks to the service of a PA.
Physician assistants (PAs) are nationally certified and state licensed professional who perform many of the same duties that a licensed physician preforms. Those duties include:
- taking medical histories
- performing physical exams
- ordering and interpreting laboratory tests
- diagnosing and treating illnesses
- assisting in surgery
- writing prescriptions
- counseling and educating patients about their conditions.
Because PAs are not licensed physicians, each of the 50 states do require that they work not only in conjunction with a licensed physician but also under their supervision. So even though, it may appear that the PA is working in an independent mode, please keep in mind that they are in regular consultation about patients with the supervising licensed physician.
With PAs performing most of the duties of the licensed physician and helping to make affordable healthcare available to more people, the demand for more trained individuals in this field is growing and will continue to grow. As a matter of fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) the projected job growth rate for physician assistants is expected to be 37% between the years of 2016 and 2026. This will add approximately 39,700 new jobs to the profession during that time period.
What Are the Training Requirements for PAs?
Training to become a physician assistant will take approximately 7 years of education. That 7 years will include four years to gain an undergraduate degree and 3 years of physician assistant school. After completing your undergraduate degree or in conjunction with it, a person will want to make sure that they also obtain at least 3 years of healthcare work experience. This is due to the fact that admission to a physician assistant program is highly competitive and they are looking for individual who already have some healthcare experience under their belt. This experience would be the kind that one can obtain as a nurse, paramedic, EMT, nursing assistant, surgical technician, etc .
In order to become a physician assistant, an individual will need to complete the following steps in the order that is listed below:
- Attend an accredited Physician Assistant training program (approximately 26 months) which will award a Masters Degree upon completion
- Become certified by taking and passing the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam
- Obtain a state license in the state you wish to practice in
- Maintain your certification by completing 100 hours of continuing medial education (CME) credits every 2 years and taking a re-certification exam every 10 years.
Most people who apply for admission to a physician assistant training program would have already completed from 2 to 4 years of undergraduate school through a 2 or 4 year college program . During that undergraduate study they need to make sure their coursework has included basic science courses such as chemistry, biology, anatomy, physiology and microbiology. Upon entering the PA program, more in depth study will be done in those basic science courses as well as courses in pharmacology, physical diagnoses, clinical laboratory, behavioral science, medical ethics, etc. During the first year of PA school, students will most likely be involved with mainly classroom and book work. This will be followed by clinical rotation for the remainder of their educational training.
While in the physician assistant training program, students will complete more than 2,000 hours of clinical rotation for hands on experience. Due to the fact that physician assistants can choose to work in different medical specialties, the clinical rotation will mostly likely include work in family medicine, internal medicine, OB/GYN, pediatrics, general surgery, emergency medicine, geriatrics, psychiatry, etc.
How Much Does A Physician Assistant Earn?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median salary for a physician assistant as of May 2016 was $101,480.
Accredited Physician Assistant Programs in the U.S.
For those interested in pursuing admission into a physician assistant training program, following are the colleges and universities currently showing on the arc-pa.org website that offer some form of an accredited PA program. The ARC-PA represents the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for Physician Assistant.
Alabama
University of Alabama at Birmingham ; University of South Alabama
Arkansas
Harding University; University of Arkansas
Arizona
Arizona School of Health Sciences; Midwestern University (Glendale); Northern Arizona University
California
California Baptist University; Chapman University; Charles R. Drew University; Dominican University of California; Loma Linda University; Marshall B. Ketchum University; Samuel Merritt University; Southern California University of Health sciences; Stanford University; Touro University California; University of California-Davis; University of Southern California (LA); University of the Pacific; Western University of Health Sciences
Colorado
Red Rocks Community College; University of Colorado
Connecticut
Quinnipiac University; Sacred Heart University; University of Bridgeport; University of Saint Joseph; Yale University School of Medicine; Yale University-Online Program
District of Columbia (DC)
George Washington University; Howard University
Florida
Adventist University of Health Sciences-Orlando; Barry University; Florida Gulf Coast University; Florida International University/Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine; Florida State University; Keiser University; Miami-Dade College; Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale; Nova Southeastern University, Fort Meyers; Nova Southeastern University, Jacksonville; Nova Southeastern University, Orlando; South University, Tampa; University of Florida; University of South Florida
Georgia
Augusta University; Emory University; Mercer University; South University in Savannah
Iowa
Des Moines University; St. Ambrose University; University of Dubuque; University of Iowa
Idaho
Idaho State University
Illinois
Dominican University; Midwestern University (Downers Grove); Northwestern University; Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine; Rush University; Southern Illinois University
Indiana
Butler University; Indiana State University; Indiana University School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences; University of Evansville; University of Saint Francis (Fort Wayne)
Kansas
Wichita State University
Kentucky
Sullivan University; University of Kentucky; University of Cumberlands
Louisiana
Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University (Our Lady of the Lake College); Louisiana State University, New Orleans; Louisiana State University Health Science Center, Shreveport
Massachusetts
Bay Path University; Boston University School of Medicine PA Program; MCPHS University (Boston); MGH Institute of Health Professions; Northeastern University; Springfield College; Tufts University; Westfield State University
Maryland
Anne Arundel Community College; Towson University CCBC Essex
Maine
University of New England
Michigan
Central Michigan University; Eastern Michigan University; Grand Valley State University; University of Detroit Mercy; Wayne State University; Western Michigan University
Minnesota
Augsburg University; Bethel University; College of St. Scholastica; Saint Catherine University
Missouri
Missouri State University; Saint Louis University; Stephens College; University of Missouri Kansas City
Mississippi
Mississippi College
Montana
Rocky Mountain College
North Carolina
Campbell University; Duke University Medical Center; East Carolina University; Elon University; Gardner Webb University; High Point University; Lenoir-Rhyne University; Methodist University; University of North Carolina Chapel Hill; Wake Forest University (Bowman Gray); Wingate University
North Dakota
University of North Dakota
Nebraska
College of Saint Mary; Union College; University of Nebraska
New Hampshire
Franklin Pierce University; MCPHS University (Manchester/Worcester)
New Jersey
Monmouth University; Rutgers University; Seton Hall University
New Mexico
University of New Mexico; University of St. Francis
Nevada
Touro University Nevada
New York
Albany Medical College; Clarkson University; Weill Cornell Medicine Graduate School of Medical Sciences; The CUNY School of Medicine; CUNY York College; Daemen College; Dyouville College; Hofstra Iniversity; Le Moyne College; Long Island University; Marist College; Mercy College; New York Institute of Technology; Pace University – Lenox Hill Hospital, NYC; Pace University – Pleasantville; Rochester Institute of Technology; St. John University; Stony Brook University; SUNY Downstate Medical Center; SUNY Upstate Medical Center; Touro College (Bayshore); Touro College (Manhattan); Wagner College
Ohio
Baldwin Wallace University; Case Western Reserve University; Cuyahoga Community College/Cleveland State University; Kettering College; Lake Erie College; Marietta College; Mount St. Joseph University; Ohio Dominican University; Ohio University; University of Dayton; University of Findlay; University of Mount Union; University of Toledo
Oklahoma
Oklahoma City University; University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City; University of Oklahoma, Tulsa
Oregon
Oregon Health & Science University; Pacific University
Pennsylvania
Arcadia University; Chatham University; De Sales University; Drexel University; Duquesne University; Gannon University; Kings; Lock Haven University; Marywood University; Mercyhurst University; Penn State University; Pennsylvania College of Technology; Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine; Philadelphia University; Saint Francis University; Salus University; Seton Hill University; Slippery Rock University; Temple University Lewis Katz School of Medicine; Thomas Jefferson University; University of Pittsburgh; University of the Sciences of Philadelphia
Rhode Island
Bryant University; Johnson & Wales University
South Carolina
Charleston Southern University; Francis Marion University; Medical University of South Carolina; North Greenville University; University of South Carolina, SOM
South Dakota
University of South Dakota
Tennessee
Bethel University; Christian Brothers University; Lincoln Memorial University; Milligan College; South College; Trevecca Nazarene University; University of Tennessee Health Science Center (Memphis)
Texas
Baylor College of Medicine; Hardin-Simmons University; Interservice; Texas Tech University Health Science Center; University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth; University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio; University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston; University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley; University of Texas Southwestern School of Health Professions
Utah
Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions; University of Utah
Virginia
Eastern Virginia Medical School; Emory & Henry College; James Madison University; Jefferson College of Health Sciences; Lynchburg College; Mary Baldwin University (Murphy Deming College of Health Sciences); Shenandoah University; South University, Richmond
Washington
Heritage University; University of Washington
Wisconsin
Carroll University; Concordia University; Marquette University; University of Wisconsin, LaCrosse; University of Wisconsin, Madison
West Virginia
Alderson-Broaddus University; University of Charleson; West Liberty University
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