The Physician Assistant is In |
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April 3, 2006
By Sonja Albrecht
sonja.albrecht@healthcare-programs.com
Healthcare Programs Columnist
These days, the medical professional you see is more likely to be a physician assistant than a doctor. Physician assistants resemble doctors in all but the medical school pedigree and the formal authority--in practice, they perform the same therapeutic, diagnostic, and medical functions as an M.D.
The Doctor's Agent
If you're considering medical school but are hesitant to sign away six years of your life, consider becoming a physician assistant. Physician assistants perform many of the same healthcare services as a medical doctor. Under the supervision of a doctor, physician assistants can examine patients, take medical histories, order and interpret laboratory tests and x-rays, make diagnoses, and advise patients. In most states, they can even prescribe medication.
Two Years to a Physician Assistant Career
Medical students are notoriously overworked and stressed––the arduous six years in school can resemble an elite hazing ritual. Physician assistants enjoy a much more straightforward route to practicing medicine. The required qualification, a degree from an accredited Physician Assistant (PA) program, typically involves two years of postgraduate study.
Like traditional medical school, the PA program includes both a classroom component and a medical internship. The physician assistant curriculum covers biochemistry, pathology, anatomy, physiology, microbiology, pharmacology, disease prevention, and medical ethics. The applied clinical training usually takes the form of medical 'rotations' in various specialty areas. The rotations enable the physician assistant to gain experience in such practices as family medicine, internal medicine, surgery, prenatal care and gynecology, geriatrics, emergency medicine, psychiatry, and pediatrics.
All physician assistants are required to pass a nationally recognized licensing exam in order to practice, and must complete at least one hundred hours of continuing medical education every two years in order to remain certified.
What does all this mean for you? As a physician assistant, you could enjoy nearly the same responsibility, intellectual challenge, and flexibility as a medical doctor--without the marathon of M.D. training and residencies.
About the Author
Sonja Albrecht works as a writer and editor for an online media company. She has also taught college writing and completed a Ph.D. in English.
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