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.
Pre-Professional
Physican Assistant and Required Courses
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.