Physician Assistant

WHAT IS PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT?
Physician Assistants, or PAs, are health professionals who practice medicine under the supervision of licensed physicians.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES
PAs are qualified to provide a broad range of diagnostic, therapeutic, preventative, and health maintenance services including taking patient histories, ordering, administering, and interpreting tests, diagnosing, and treating illness, and assisting in surgery. Some states also allow PAs to write prescriptions. The responsibilities of a PA depend on the practice setting, education, experience, and state laws. Physician Assistants are employed in ambulatory, emergency and long term settings. PAs provide health care services in family and internal medicine, pediatrics, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, and other specialty care areas. PAs work with other health care providers including physicians, nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and mental health professionals.

AREAS OF SPECIALITY
Many PAs work in primary care areas such as general internal medicine, pediatrics, and family medicine. Others work in specialty areas, such as general and thoracic surgery, emergency medicine, orthopedics, and geriatrics. PAs specializing in surgery provide pre-and post-operative care and may work as first or second assistants during major surgery.

DESIRED SKILLS
Physician assistants need leadership skills, self-confidence, and emotional stability. They must be willing to continue studying throughout their career to keep up with medical advances.

EDUCATION & TRAINING
PrePhysician Assistants students must complete specific undergraduate coursework (see Recommended Courses for Pre-Physician Assistant Students). Candidates must be graduates of an accredited program and be certified by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA). All States require that new PA's complete an accredited, formal education program. Currently there are 116 accredited or provisionally accredited PA programs, 64 award a Bachelors Degree or option. The rest offered either a certificate, an associate degree, or a master's degree. Most PA graduates have at least a bachelor's degree. The typical PA program is 24-27 months long and requires entrants to have at least two years of college and some health care experience. Some PAs pursue additional education in order to practice in specialty area such as surgery, neonatology, or emergency medicine. PA postgraduate residency training programs are available.

Biology
Life Sciences 1, 2, 3, 4. One year of coursework with lab.
Notes: If you took LS 2 and 3 before Fall 98, then take two additional life science lab courses (in departments such as EEB (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology), MCD Bio, neuroscience, psychobiology, or physiological science).

Chemistry
Life science or non-science majors: Chemistry 14A, 14B/BL, 14C/CL, 14D.
Physical, life or non-science majors: Chemistry 20A, 20B/L, 30A/AL, 30B/BL, 30C*.**
*Chem 30CL may not be required for applicants from the life science majors. **Western University of Health Sciences PA program will only accept the 20/30 series. Biochemistry is strongly recommended for all pre-health programs (i.e. Chem 153A/153L).

Microbiology
MIMG 101/101L. One quarter with lab. MIMG 6 is the lower division microbiology class, but does not have a lab component. One course from a community college with lab may also be acceptable.

Human Anatomy
Phy Sci 13 or 107 (upper division PS courses are generally restricted to PS majors). Phy Sci 13 through UCLA Extension is another good option.

Human Physiology
Phy Sci 3* or 5 or 111A-C (upper division PS courses are generally restricted to PS majors). *PS 3 has a lab component effective Summer 04. Any offerings before Summer 04 did NOT have a lab. One course from a community college with lab may also be acceptable.

English
One year of college level literature and composition. Writing I and Writing II courses, select general education literature courses, and any upper division English literature or English Composition courses will satisfy this requirement. Please see the “English requirement for health professions schools” sheet for a complete list of suggested courses.

Other Recommended Courses

Physics
Physics 6A, 6B, 6C or 6AH, 6BH, 6CH or 1A, 1B, 1C, 4AL, 4BL
One year with labs is generally recommended. Trigonometry-based physics can also satisfy this requirement, but UCLA only offers calculus-based courses and these are required for the various science majors.

Math
Math 3A, 3B, 3C or 31A, 31B, 32A
This is your preparation for calculus-based physics. One year of math can include statistics (see below) and computer programming classes (PIC 10A, 10B, 10C).

Statistics
Statistics 10, M11, M12, 13, Biostatistics or Biomath, Psychology 100A*
*Check with individual schools for acceptability of classes offered outside of the Statistics department.

Foreign Language
Knowledge and cultural competency in any language other than English is a valuable asset to working in a health care field. If your future plans include working in California or the southwestern states, Spanish is highly valued and somewhat expected. Ask yourself: Can I walk into a hospital room and get a patient history in another language? If the answer is no, then consider taking college level foreign language classes to brush up on your skills.

Other Humanities and Social Science courses are strongly recommended. The non-science GPA is an important component to your overall academic record, and liberal arts education. Courses in the following can enhance your communication skills and overall understanding of the world: Anthropology, Communication Studies, Economics, any ethnic studies area (e.g. Women’s Studies, LGBT Studies, Afro-American Studies, Chicana/Chicano Studies, Near Eastern Studies), Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, and Speech to name a few.

Computer skills are strongly recommended. Many programs have incorporated computers and electronic media into their curriculum. Several programs are strongly recommending that a student owns a computer.

EMPLOYMENT OUTLOOK & SALARY
Employment of PAs is expected to grow faster than the average for all occupations through the year 2008 due to anticipated expansion of the health service industry and an emphasis on cost containment. Employment opportunities are expected to be good for physician assistants, particularly in areas or settings that have difficulty attracting physicians, such as the rural and inner city clinics. According to American Academy of Physician Assistants, there are approximately 66,000 practicing PAs in the US today with a median annual earnings of $47,090.

RELATED OCCUPATIONS
Other health workers who provide direct patient care that requires a similar level of skill and training include nurse practitioners, physical therapist, occupational therapists, clinical psychologists, nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, clinical nurse specialists, speech-language pathologists, and audiologists.