PAs gain status, popularity as a profession
PAs gain status, popularity as a profession
Managed care makes them an asset to practices
Since the advent of managed care, the role of physician assistants (PAs) has been expanded and the profession is growing by leaps and bounds.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that the number of PA jobs will increase by 46.6% between 1996 and 2006. Total employment is projected to grow by 14% during the same period.
The number of programs to train PAs has almost doubled this decade, according to the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) in Alexandria, VA. In 1990, there were 50 programs nationwide to train PAs. Now there are more than 90 accredited programs and an additional 20 programs with provisional accreditation.
Diana McGill, PA-C, of Pro-Search Medical Placement in Houston, reports she is getting a lot of calls from physicians who have never worked with a physician assistant but who are interested in hiring one. McGill, who still practices as a physician assistant two days a week, specializes in placing physician assistants in Texas.
Most PAs have bachelor’s degrees
The AAPA estimates that 34,000 people are in clinical practice as PAs nationwide, and that about 8,000 students will be enrolled in PA programs this fall. The typical program is 24 to 25 months and requires at least two years of college and some health care experience prior to admission. According to the AAPA, the majority of students have a bachelor’s degree and 49 months of health care experience before admission to a PA program.
PA education is modeled after physician education, and typically is about two-thirds the length of medical school. The course of study includes course work in medical principles and basic sciences including anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, pharmacology, physical diagnosis, pathophysiology, microbiology, clinical laboratory science, behavioral sciences, and medical ethics. Second-year clinical rotations include family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics, gynecology, pediatrics, general surgery, emergency medicine, and psychiatry. The typical PA completes more than 2,000 hours of supervised clinical practice prior to graduation.
Almost every state requires physician assistants to be certified by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants. They must earn 100 hours of continuing medical education every two years, and pass a recertification test every six years.
The District of Columbia and all states except Mississippi recognize PAs. The scope of practice varies by state, but all states license PAs to treat patients on their own under the supervision of a physician.
The American Medical Association and the American Academy of Family Physicians have both issued guidelines on how physicians and physician assistants should work together as a team. The AAPA has endorsed the guidelines.
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