Physician Assistant Career Profile

The healthcare field is a great field to go into right now. The demand is very high while the supply is relatively low. This means that anyone who decides to pursue a career in the health industry will almost be guaranteed a job. This includes a career as a physician assistant. A physician assistant career pays very well and is very rewarding.

The actual duties of a physician assistant are very similar to the duties performed by a doctor. The only difference is that physician assistants don’t perform surgery and they don’t handle the toughest medical cases.

The exact role a physician assistant fills is dependent upon the state and the amount of education (the certification) the physician assistant has received. Usually physician assistants are “supervised” by a physician. However, physician assistants are able to make decisions on their own, treat minor injuries, and prescribe medicine (in most states).

Physician assistants are found in all practices. The type of medicine that’s being practiced is determined by the type of medicine that the “supervising” physician performs.

About 50% of all physician assistants practice what is called “primary care medicine”. This means they are in family medicine, pediatrics, or internal medicine.

The physician assistant career actually began back in the early 1960s. There was a recognized shortage of doctors. So to help ease the shortage, Dr. Eugene Stead from Duke University Medical Center put together a group of physician assistants in 1965. The group was primarily made up of Navy medical personnel who had vast knowledge of medicine from being in the armed forces. These men had practiced medicine in the Viet Nam War but did not have a comparable position to fill in civilian life.

Much of the education for these physician assistants was based on the education given to doctors during World War II. In an effort to create more doctors, the entire education process was fast-tracked during World War II. This model worked well then and worked well again in the 1960s. As a result, an entirely new career was created in the health care field. The physician assistant career was born.

Today the people who are being educated include mostly people with at least a Bachelor’s Degree. They are usually nurses, EMTs, or paramedics. They have to apply to a physician assistant program at an accredited college or university and they have to be accepted. Once they are accepted they then have to attend school for about 25 months. Physician assistants continue to be educated throughout their career and they have to continue to pass tests for their clinical abilities too.

With the continued need for health care professionals, a physician assistant career is a very smart way to go. Physician assistants make good money and have a very rewarding job. Though they don’t have as much responsibility as doctors, physician assistants still have a great deal of responsibility and they have the ability to really make a positive difference in the lives of many, many people.