PA (Physician's assistant)

A physician’s assistant, or PA, is a certified health professional who practices medicine under the supervision of a physician or surgeon. They shouldn’t be confused with medical assistants, who perform clerical and routine clinical duties. You can find PAs in hospitals, clinics, private practices, nursing homes, schools, colleges and universities, correctional systems, and in industrial settings.

Education and Requirements

A physician’s assistant will generally already have a college degree and some background in healthcare before starting a PA program. Many PAs have prior experience as paramedics, emergency medical technicians, and registered nurses.

Educational programs usually take just over two years to complete. There are more than 140 accredited PA programs across the country offered at various institutions, including academic health centers, four-year colleges, community colleges, and medical schools. A physician’s assistant completes classroom and laboratory training in medical ethics, biochemistry, anatomy, and pathology, among others. Clinical training includes a more in-depth exploration of the specialties of medicine, such as geriatrics, pediatrics, prenatal care and gynecology, surgery, family medicine, and emergency medicine. Candidates may earn an associate, baccalaureate or master’s degree in a PA program, but regardless of the level of knowledge acquired, each person must sit for and pass the national certifying exam to practice in any state. This exam is administered by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants. To remain certified, PAs must fulfill continuing education requirements every couple of years.

Duties

The scope of practice that each physician’s assistant is authorized to perform will vary by state and by the attending physician, but duties generally include the following:

• Reporting to attending physician under every circumstance
• Acting as the first or second assistants in surgery
• Taking medical histories
• Administering examinations, diagnosing, and treating conditions
• Ordering and interpreting X-rays and lab tests
• Performing non-surgical treatments such as casting, splinting, and suturing
• Counseling patients
• Ordering and administering therapy
• Prescribing certain medications
• Acting as primary caregiver

At Laser Spine Institute, our staff includes 7 expert surgeons, 22 doctors, nearly 200 medical professionals – including PAs – and over 300 employees who are completely dedicated to providing the utmost in quality care to our patients. We strive for our patients to have an experience that goes above and beyond expectations.