PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT

(Redirected from Physician assistant)
In the United States, 'Physician Assistants' (PAs) are non-physician clinicians licensed to practice medicine with a physician's supervision. Unlike nurse practitioners, who are trained in advanced nursing, PAs receive education specifically in the practice of medicine. In many states, PAs are licensed and work under the auspices of the physician's license. Physician Assistants generally have a master's degree in medicine from an accredited university. Practicing PA's require national certification which must be maintained by recertifying every two years by requiring at least 100 hours of Continuing Medical Education (CME) and taking a national recertifiying exam every six years. The physician supervision, in most cases, need not be direct, or on site, and many PAs practice in remote or underserved areas in satellite clinics. All states, as well as the District of Columbia, Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands have laws and/or regulations authorizing physician assistants to practice medicine. PAs can prescribe medications in all 50 states [1] as well as D.C., Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. PAs are assigned a DEA number that gives them authority to prescribe controlled medications in their scope of practice. They have specialized registration category assigned to "mid-level" practitioners.[2] PAs in surgical practices also serve as first assistants in surgery. PAs provide medical services that are reimbursed under Medicare and third party insurances. Their scope of practice and autonomy are only limited by their precepting physicians' scope of practice, comfort level and the PA's clinical experience, allowing PAs to work in any area of medicine, surgery or research.
Worldwide, the PA concept is being explored in Canada, where military PAs are gaining legislative changes allowing them to work in the civilian world after retirement;[3] in England, where several U.S.-trained PAs are working in a pilot project; [4] Scotland and Australia
where a similar pilot project is happening;[5] and in South Africa, and the Netherlands, where a physician assistant training program is underway.[6]

Employment

According to the American Academy of Physician Assistants, there were about 63,609 certified PAs in clinical practice as of January 2007. Even though a few legacy programs confer an associates degree or just a certificate of completion, most programs now confer a masters degree [7], requiring a bachelors degree on entry; many more are seeking accreditation at the master's level. Physician assistants filled about 65,000 positions in 2005. The number of positions is greater than the number of practicing PAs because some hold two or more positions . For example, some PAs work with a supervising physician, but also work in another practice, clinic, or hospital.
According to the 2005 PA census from the American Academy of Physician Assistants, just over 56 percent of PAs worked in the offices and clinics of physicians, either allopathic or osteopathic. About 40 percent were employed by hospitals. The rest were mostly in public health clinics, nursing homes, schools, prisons, home health care agencies, and the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. According to the American Academy of Physician Assistants, about 17 percent of all PAs provide health care to rural communities and those with fewer than 20,000 residents, in which physicians may be in limited supply.
The U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) [8] reports that employment of physician assistants is expected to grow "much faster than average for all occupations through the year 2014, ranking among the fastest growing occupations," due to several factors, including an expanding health care industry, an aging baby-boomer population, concerns for cost containment, and newly-implemented restrictions to shorten physician residency workhours. According to the BLS, the physician assistant profession is the fourth fastest growing occupation in America, based on anticipated growth between 2004 and 2014 [9]. ''Money'' Magazine, in conjunction with Salary.com, lists physician assistant as the "fifth best job in America" based on salary and job prospects, with an anticipated 10-year job growth of 49.65% for the profession [10]. CNNMoney.com reports that the physician assistant profession is the fastest growing profession in the United States [11]. According to the American Academy of Physician Assistants, in 2006 the mean total income for physician assistants working at least 32 hours per week is $84,396 [12]. Physician assistants in surgical subspecialties can earn above $100,000, with the mean total income for PAs working at least 32 hours per week in cardiovascular/cardiothoracic surgery listed as $104,681 for the year 2006 [13].

Education and certification

In 2006, there are more than 130 accredited PA programs in the United States.[14] They are all accredited by one body the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant(ARC-PA). A majority of them are master's degree programs (MS, MPAS, MHS, MMS, MCMSc) (requiring GRE or MCAT for entry), but some are available as an undergraduate major as a bachelor's or associate's degree [15]. A number of these undergraduate programs are making a transition to graduate level training.
A Physician Assistant may use the post-nominal initials PA, PA-C, RPA or RPA-C, where the C indicates "Certified" and the R indicates "Registered." The "R" designation is unique to a few states; most Physician Assistants use the PA-C. During training Physician Assistant students have the designation PA-S; where the "S" indicates their role as a student. The use of the "PA-C" is limited only to those physician assistants certified and currently in compliance with the regulations of one certifying body, the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA).'Every two years, a PA must earn and log 100 CME hours and reregister her/his certificate with the NCCPA (second and fourth years), and by the end of the sixth year, recertify by successfully completing the Physician Assistant National Recertifying Examination (PANRE).[16]

Scope of practice

Physician assistants are licensed to practice medicine with physician supervision.[17] They obtain medical histories and perform examinations, order treatments, diagnose illnesses, prescribe medication, interpret diagnostic tests, refer patients to specialists when appropriate and first assist in surgery. The education of a physician assistant is a generalist approach, but is based on the medical school model [18], although unlike medical school (which is four years in duration), PA programs are two to three years in duration. PAs may practice in general medicine or any medical or surgical specialty. PA's can change specialties and have the ability to work throughout their career in different medical/surgical specialties. According to the AAPA, PAs must always work with physician supervision.[19] That supervision can be in person, telecommunication systems or other means deemed reliable.[20]

The Military PA

Army PAs[21] typically serve as Medical Specialist Corps Officers within one of the many Army combat or combat support battalions[22] located in the continental US, Alaska, Hawaii, Germany, Italy, Korea or wherever the mission goes. These units include mechanized or light infantry, armored cavalry, airborne or, if qualified, Special Forces. Regardless of where assigned, they serve the “front line” of Army medicine and are responsible for the total health care of soldiers assigned to that unit, as well as their family members. PAs also serve in the Air Force and Navy as clinical practitioners and aviation medicine specialists. The skill set for military PAs is similar to that of PAs working in a clinical environment, however additional training is needed in the areas of Advanced Casualty Care, Medical Management of Chemical Injuries, Aviation Medicine and other specialties as the assignment may require[23]. In addition, military PAs are also required to meet the officer commissioning requirements and maintain the professional and physical readiness standards of their respective service.

History of PAs

The Physician Assistant profession has its beginnings with the highly trained Hospital Corpsmen of the Vietnam War era. Dr. Eugene Stead of the Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina put together the first class of PAs in 1965, to expand the availability of medical care in the face of a shortage of primary care physicians. For his first class, he selected former Navy corpsmen, who had received considerable medical training during their military service and during the war in Vietnam but who had no comparable civilian employment or equivalent. He based the curriculum of the PA program in part on his knowledge of the fast-track training of medical doctors during World War II. The Duke University Medical Center Archives has established the Physician Assistant History Center, dedicated to the study, preservation, and presentation of the history of the Physician Assistant profession. On February 25, 2006 the North Carolina Academy of Physician Assistants formally opened the Stead Center in Research Triangle Park (RTP), NC, in honor of Eugene Stead, M.D., the father of the PA profession.

External links

This article provided by Wikipedia. To edit the contents of this article, click here for original source.

	Comfort Suites
	Holiday Market Travel
	Walden Tours
	Sheraton Suites Philadelphia Airport
	Tauck World Discovery

	Cobblers Cove
	Sheraton Princess Kaiulani
	Sheraton Philadelphia University City
	Sheraton Bucks County Hotel
	Tauck World Discovery
	Fallsview Casino Resort
	Golden Gate Casino
	Caesars Windsor
	Sheraton Harrisburg Hershey Hotel
	Sheraton Society Hill

	Tips for Toronto Travellers: Fly Cheap from Buffalo Airport
	Celebrating Thanksgiving & the Harvest All Over the World
	First Gay Heli Ski Week Launched by Canadian Mountain Holidays
	Lake Elementaita: Retreat to a Paradise of Flamingoes in Kenya
	10 Tips Every Business Traveller Should Know
	Celebrate Rabbie Burns & Culture at Homecoming Scotland 2009

Home

Blogs

Trip Deals

Hotel Deals

Jobs

Videos

Articles

Directory

Languages

PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT

Employment

Education and certification

Scope of practice

The Military PA

History of PAs

External links

Customer Service

Most Popular

Useful

Find

Username:	Password:

	or Sign up here