A physician assistant (P.A.) is a licensed health professional who practices medicine under the supervision of a physician. A physician assistant provides a broad range of health care services that were traditionally performed by a doctor. As part of the physician/P.A. team, a physician assistant exercises considerable autonomy in diagnosing and treating illnesses.
What a physician assistant does varies with training, experience, and state laws. In general, P.A.'s can provide approximately 80 percent of the services typically provided by a family physician. They perform physical exams, diagnose illnesses, develop and carry out treatment plans, order and interpret lab tests, suture wounds, assist in surgery, provide preventive health care counseling, and in 39 states, including Wisconsin, write prescriptions. A P.A. can do whatever is delegated to him/her by the supervising physician and allowed by law. In most states, a P.A. can treat patients when the physician is away from the practice.
The scope of the P.A.'s practice corresponds to the supervising physician's practice. For example, the P.A. working with a surgeon would be skilled in surgical techniques in the operating room, perform pre- and post-operative care, and be able to perform special tests and procedures.
Physician assistants are trained in the medical model. In some schools they attend many of the same classes as medical students. One of the main differences between P.A. education and physician education is not the core content of the curriculum but the amount of time spent in school. The length of a P.A. program is about two thirds that of medical school. Physicians also are required to do an internship, with the majority also completing a residency in a specialty. P.A.'s do not have to undertake an internship or residency. A physician has complete responsibility for the care of the patient; P.A.'s share that responsibility with the physician. Physicians are independent practitioners; P.A.'s practice medicine under the supervision of a physician.
Thirty-nine states and the District of Columbia and Guam allow P.A.'s to write and sign prescriptions without a physician cosignature. These prescriptions will be filled by pharmacists.
Most P.A. education programs require applicants to have previous health care experience and some college education. The typical applicant already has a bachelor's degree and more than four years of health care experience. Nurses, EMTs, and paramedics often apply to P.A. programs. P.A. programs look for students who have a desire to study, work hard, and be of service. On average, an accredited P.A. program lasts 25 months. P.A. programs are accredited by an independent organization sponsored in part by the American Medical Association. All PA programs must meet the same standard curriculum essentials.
P.A. students typically study anatomy and physiology, pharmacology, microbiology, internal medicine, pediatrics, emergency medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, geriatrics, surgery and psychology. These classes are taught as both lectures and lab sessions. P.A. students also spend at least one year in clinical rotations. During this period, they treat patients in each of the major disciplines of medicine and perform additional course work on campus.
A P.A.'s education doesn't stop after graduation. P.A.'s are required to take ongoing continuing medical education classes and to be retested on their clinical skills on a regular basis.
Physician Assistant-Certified. This means that the person who holds the title has met the defined course of study and has undergone testing by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA). The NCCPA is an independent organization and the commissioners represent a number of different medical professions. To maintain the C after P.A., a physician assistant must log 100 hours of continuing medical education every two years and take the recertification exam every six years.