Physician assistants (PAs) practice medicine with supervision by licensed physicians, providing patients with services ranging from primary medicine to specialized surgical care. A PA's scope of practice is determined by state law, the supervising physician's delegation of responsibilities, the PA's education and experience, and the specialty and setting in which the PA works.
Physician Assistant Education
PAs are educated in accredited programs located at medical schools, universities, and teaching hospitals. Prerequisites for admission generally include two years of relevant college course work, plus patient care experience unless the program offers a master's degree, in which case a baccalaureate degree is generally required. The typical student entering a PA program has a bachelor's degree and more than four years of health care experience. The mean length of PA education programs is 26 months.
The first phase of the program consists of intensive classroom and laboratory study, providing students with an in-depth understanding of the medical sciences. Subjects include anatomy, pharmacology, physiology, clinical laboratory medicine and microbiology, pathophysiology, physical diagnosis, medical ethics, and behavioral sciences. The second phase consists of clinical rotations with physician preceptors in a variety of settings, such as hospitals, long-term care facilities, and physicians' offices. Programs include more than 2,000 hours of clinical rotations in internal medicine, family medicine, surgery, pediatrics, obstetrics/gynecology, psychiatry, emergency medicine, and geriatric medicine.
PA programs are accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA). Physician organizations that are actively involved in the accreditation of PA programs include the American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Physicians, American College of Surgeons, and American Medical Association.
National Certification
The National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants is an independent organization established to assure the competency of physician assistants. In conjunction with the National Board of Medical Examiners, it administers a national certifying examination (known as the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination, or PANCE) to graduates of accredited PA programs. Only those individuals who pass the exam may use the title "Physician Assistant-Certified" or "PA-C." In order to remain certified, PAs must complete 100 hours of continuing medical education every two years and take a recertification examination every six years. This private voluntary certification process has been adopted as a state licensing requirement.
The NCCPA Board of Directors includes representatives of the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Physicians, the American College of Surgeons, the American College of Emergency Physicians, the American Osteopathic Association, the American Hospital Association, the Association of American Medical Colleges, the Federation of State Medical Boards of the U.S., the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the American Academy of Physician Assistants, and the Association of Physician Assistant Programs.
Practice Settings
The first four PAs began practicing in 1967. By January 2005, there were approximately 55,000 PAs in clinical practice. They are located in almost all health care settings and in every medical and surgical specialty. PAs can be found working in the inner city as well as the most remote rural areas, where they may be the only full-time providers of care (state laws stipulate the conditions for remote supervision by a physician).
The largest proportion of PAs are in primary care (40%); about one quarter practice in surgical specialties. The primary work site for over three quarters (77%) of PAs is an outpatient setting.
The AAPA estimates that in 2004, approximately 206 million patient visits were made to PAs and approximately 250 million medications were prescribed or recommended by PAs.
PAs have proven adaptable to the changes in medicine and are filling roles that could not have been anticipated when the profession began. For example, many hospitals, faced with a shortage of medical residents or restrictions on resident work hours, utilize physician assistants to provide patient care.
Reimbursement
Employers are reimbursed for physician medical services provided by physician assistants under Medicare, TRI-CARE (formerly CHAMPUS), Medicaid, and by most private insurance companies.
Physician Assistant Organizations
The American Academy of Physician Assistants is the national professional society for PAs with chapters in all 50 states, the District of Columbia , Guam , the military services, the U.S. Public Health Service, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Major activities include government relations, research and data collection, publications, and continuing medical education. The AAPA is located at 950 North Washington Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314-1552 ; 703/836-2272; Web site, www.aapa.org.
The Association of Physician Assistant Programs represents the more than 130 accredited PA educational programs. The Association serves as a national information center on PA education. Phone: 703/548-5538; Web site, www.apap.org.
The National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants, which administers the certifying examinations described above, is located at 12000 Findley Road, Suite 200, Duluth, Georgia 30097. Phone: 678/417-8100; Web site, www.nccpa.net.
The Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc., accredits PA educational programs. The ARC-PA is located at 12000 Findley Road, Suite 240, Duluth, GA 30097. Phone: 770/476-1224; Web site, www.arc-pa.org.
Physician Assistant Education
PAs are educated in accredited programs located at medical schools, universities, and teaching hospitals. Prerequisites for admission generally include two years of relevant college course work, plus patient care experience unless the program offers a master's degree, in which case a baccalaureate degree is generally required. The typical student entering a PA program has a bachelor's degree and more than four years of health care experience. The mean length of PA education programs is 26 months.
The first phase of the program consists of intensive classroom and laboratory study, providing students with an in-depth understanding of the medical sciences. Subjects include anatomy, pharmacology, physiology, clinical laboratory medicine and microbiology, pathophysiology, physical diagnosis, medical ethics, and behavioral sciences. The second phase consists of clinical rotations with physician preceptors in a variety of settings, such as hospitals, long-term care facilities, and physicians' offices. Programs include more than 2,000 hours of clinical rotations in internal medicine, family medicine, surgery, pediatrics, obstetrics/gynecology, psychiatry, emergency medicine, and geriatric medicine.
PA programs are accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA). Physician organizations that are actively involved in the accreditation of PA programs include the American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Physicians, American College of Surgeons, and American Medical Association.
National Certification
The National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants is an independent organization established to assure the competency of physician assistants. In conjunction with the National Board of Medical Examiners, it administers a national certifying examination (known as the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination, or PANCE) to graduates of accredited PA programs. Only those individuals who pass the exam may use the title "Physician Assistant-Certified" or "PA-C." In order to remain certified, PAs must complete 100 hours of continuing medical education every two years and take a recertification examination every six years. This private voluntary certification process has been adopted as a state licensing requirement.
The NCCPA Board of Directors includes representatives of the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Physicians, the American College of Surgeons, the American College of Emergency Physicians, the American Osteopathic Association, the American Hospital Association, the Association of American Medical Colleges, the Federation of State Medical Boards of the U.S., the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the American Academy of Physician Assistants, and the Association of Physician Assistant Programs.
Practice Settings
The first four PAs began practicing in 1967. By January 2005, there were approximately 55,000 PAs in clinical practice. They are located in almost all health care settings and in every medical and surgical specialty. PAs can be found working in the inner city as well as the most remote rural areas, where they may be the only full-time providers of care (state laws stipulate the conditions for remote supervision by a physician).
The largest proportion of PAs are in primary care (40%); about one quarter practice in surgical specialties. The primary work site for over three quarters (77%) of PAs is an outpatient setting.
The AAPA estimates that in 2004, approximately 206 million patient visits were made to PAs and approximately 250 million medications were prescribed or recommended by PAs.
PAs have proven adaptable to the changes in medicine and are filling roles that could not have been anticipated when the profession began. For example, many hospitals, faced with a shortage of medical residents or restrictions on resident work hours, utilize physician assistants to provide patient care.
Reimbursement
Employers are reimbursed for physician medical services provided by physician assistants under Medicare, TRI-CARE (formerly CHAMPUS), Medicaid, and by most private insurance companies.
Physician Assistant Organizations
The American Academy of Physician Assistants is the national professional society for PAs with chapters in all 50 states, the District of Columbia , Guam , the military services, the U.S. Public Health Service, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Major activities include government relations, research and data collection, publications, and continuing medical education. The AAPA is located at 950 North Washington Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314-1552 ; 703/836-2272; Web site, www.aapa.org.
The Association of Physician Assistant Programs represents the more than 130 accredited PA educational programs. The Association serves as a national information center on PA education. Phone: 703/548-5538; Web site, www.apap.org.
The National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants, which administers the certifying examinations described above, is located at 12000 Findley Road, Suite 200, Duluth, Georgia 30097. Phone: 678/417-8100; Web site, www.nccpa.net.
The Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc., accredits PA educational programs. The ARC-PA is located at 12000 Findley Road, Suite 240, Duluth, GA 30097. Phone: 770/476-1224; Web site, www.arc-pa.org.
