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What is a Physician Assistant?
Physician assistants (PAs) are skilled health care professionals who practice medicine with physician supervision. PAs provide a wide range of medical services from primary care to high technology specialty procedures.
How Did the PA Profession Begin?
In the mid-1960s, physicians and educators recognized there was a shortage and uneven distribution of primary care physicians. To expand delivery of quality medical care, Dr. Eugene Stead of the Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina put together the first class of PAs in 1965. He selected Navy corpsmen who received considerable medical training during their military service and during the war in Vietnam but who had no comparable civilian employment. He based the curriculum of the PA program in part on his knowledge of the fast track training of physicians during World War II.
What do PAs do?
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Perform histories and physical exams
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Order and interpret routine diagnostic studies
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Perform routine therapeutic procedures
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Diagnose and treat common medical problems
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Prescribe medications and therapies
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Provide patient education and counseling
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Assist the physician in the hospital setting
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Assist in surgery
Where do PAs work?
PAs practice in most health care settings, and in every medical and surgical specialty. The majority of PAs practice in primary care clinics, but other settings include hospitals, nursing homes, and outpatient surgery centers. It is not uncommon to find PAs located miles away from their supervising physicians in medically underserved areas where they may be the only health care provider in the community.
How Are PAs Educated?
There are more than 100 PA programs nationwide. All are accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Educational Programs. This governing body was initially developed by the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the American College of Physicians. Current membership also includes the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Surgeons, the American Academy of Physician Assistants, and the Association of PA Programs.
Basic admission requirements for PA programs include at least two years of college and some prior health care experience. The typical applicant already has a bachelor’s degree and over four years of health care experience. The first year of a two-year PA program includes classroom study in behavioral/social sciences, anatomy, biochemistry, clinical laboratory medicine, clinical medicine, health promotion, medical ethics, microbiology, pathology, pharmacology, physiology, and psychology. The second year encompasses over 2,000 hours of clinical rotations in family practice and other medical and surgical specialties such as emergency medicine, family practice, internal medicine, obstetrics/gynecology, orthopedics, pediatrics, and surgery. The average PA program curriculum is 111 weeks, compared to 155 weeks for medical school.
What Credentials do PAs Have?
Upon graduation from an accredited PA program, candidates for the profession must sit for the certifying examination developed by the National Board of Medical Examiners, and administered by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA). Wisconsin requires candidates to pass this examination prior to licensure as a PA.
Physician assistants must complete 100 hours of continuing medical education every two years, and pass a recertification exam every six years to maintain national certification.
How are PAs Regulated?
Licensure as a PA in Wisconsin is initially granted by the Medical Examining Board and subject to renewal every two years. PAs are required to practice with physician supervision, but may work in a location miles away from the supervising physician’s office. The supervising physician is required to be available by telephone or other means of telecommunication if needed.
PAs are allowed to prescribe medications, including controlled substances such as narcotics, with physician supervision.
What Impact Do PAs Have?
With physician supervision, a PA may:
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improve accessibility to care, especially in rural and underserved areas
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reduce patient waiting time
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educate a patient in preventative health care
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provide for less hurried exams and allow more time to answer patient questions