Physician Assistant

Physician Assistants (PA's) are healthcare professionals who practice medicine with the supervision of a licensed physician. They work in all areas of medicine, including primary care and family medicine, emergency medicine, surgery, and psychiatry. PA's provide services ranging from primary care to very specialized surgical care. Physician Assistants obtain patient histories, perform physical examinations, diagnose illness and develop and execute treatment strategies.

Outlook and demand

With the growing need for healthcare services to provide care to patients in rural, urban and indigent populations, the demand for Physician Assistants is projected to continue to grow. Having Physician Assistants in a healthcare practice provides greater access to medical care and allows physicians to be able to provide medical care to a larger population of patients.

Employers look for professionals who can:

• Examine patients to obtain information about their physical condition.
• Make tentative diagnoses and decisions about management and treatment of patients.
• Prescribe therapy or medications to treat their medical conditions.
• Administer or order diagnostic tests, such as x-ray, electrocardiogram, and laboratory tests.
• Interpret diagnostic test results.
• Work well in an interprofessional, collaborative team.

Paths that can lead to this career

Prior to entering into the profession, students must obtain a Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies (MSPAS) degree from an accredited educational program and they must obtain certification from the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA). Please note, this is a highly competitive program that requires a national application through the Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA) and requires an interview process for admission.

Job titles and employers

Physician Assistant

Places of work for this career:

• Physicians Offices
• Hospitals
• Outpatient Care Centers
• Family Practice Clinics
• Psychiatric Practice Clinics
• Pediatric Practice Clinics
• Home Health

To find out detailed salary information and more information on this career, you can explore the Department of Labor's O*Net database.

Organizations to check out for this career:

• American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA)
• National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA)
• Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA)
• Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA)
• Central Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA)

Next steps