PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT PROGRAM

All Information is subject to change.  Please check with the Program Advisor for the most current data.

Overview of the Profession

Physician Assistants (PA) are health professionals who are licensed to practice medicine with physician supervision.  They are qualified by graduation from an accredited physician assistant educational program and certified by the National Commission on Certification of PAs. PAs exercise autonomy in medical decision-making and provide a broad range of medical and diagnostic services (American Academy of Physician Assistants).

The physician assistant performs a variety of primary care tasks including collecting historical and physical data and ordering appropriate laboratory tests.  The physician assistant makes a diagnosis of the patient’s condition.  They can provide medication, treatments, or therapy for health-related problems.  Also, the physician assistant can evaluate psychological aspects of a patient’s health, counsel when appropriate, and provide patient education.  They make referrals when needed.  They can also perform technical skills such as EKGs, venipuncture, suturing, injections, splinting, casting and assisting in surgery.  PAs are trained to work in a variety of medical specialties and settings, and can function in educational research and administrative activities as well.

To allow the physician-PA team to be more efficient in providing care to patients, the vast majority of states do not require PAs and their supervising physicians to be at the same location.  All state laws require the supervising physician to be available, either in person or by telecommunications, when the PA is seeing patients.

The scope of the PA’s work corresponds to the supervising physician’s practice.  In general, a physician assistant and the supervising physician will see patients with the same kinds of illnesses.  The cases handled by physicians are generally the more complicated medical cases or those that require care that is not a routine part of the PA’s scope of work.

Supervising physicians determine which patients and what kinds of illnesses they want PAs to treat.  Close consultation between the patient, PA and physician is done for unusual or had to manage illnesses.  Physician assistants are taught to know when it is appropriate to have the patient seen by the physician.  It is an important part of PA training.

The typical applicant to a physician assistant educational program has a bachelor’s degree and four years of health care experience.  Commonly, nurses, emergency medical technicians and paramedics apply to PA programs.

PA programs look for students who have a desire to study, to work hard and to be of service.  All PA programs are accredited by one independent organization supported by the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Surgeons and other national medical organizations.  Whether located at a college, university, medical school or teaching hospital, all PA programs must meet the same national accreditation standards.

The typical PA program provides students a broad education in primary care medicine in two phases.  The first phase includes lectures and lab sessions in anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, microbiology, medical ethics and similar courses.  The second phase is spent in clinical rotations in such specialties as family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, emergency medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, geriatrics, surgery, psychology and other specialties.  During this period, students treat patients in each of the major disciplines of medicine and perform additional course work on campus.

A PA’s education doesn’t stop after graduation, though.  To keep abreast of medical advances, PAs are committed to life-long learning.  PAs take continuing medical education classes throughout their career and sit for a national recertification exam every six years.

In the mid-1960s, physicians and educators recognized that there was a shortage and an uneven distribution of primary care physicians.  To expand the delivery of quality medical care, Eugene Stead, M.D., at the Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina, put together the first class of physician assistants in 1965.  He selected four Navy corpsmen who received medical training during their military service but who had no comparable civilian employment opportunities.  Stead based the education of PAs in part on his knowledge of the fast-track training of doctors during World War II.

PAs are employed in virtually all types of health care settings – hospitals, clinics, private physician offices, schools, HMOs, and even in the White House as members of the medical team taking care of the President and the Vice President.  The U.S. government employs PAs in the military, Veterans Administration, Bureau of Prisons, Public Health Service and other agencies.

PAs can be found in communities of all sizes, from the smallest rural town to major metropolitan areas and in basically every medical and surgical specialty.  Although the majority of PAs work in primary care medicine – family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology – many work in specialty medicine, such as cardiothoracic surgery and orthopedics.  PAs may also work in areas of medical education, health administration and research.

PAs are trained in medicine just like physicians and in some programs PAs attend many of the same classes as medical students.  Both professions are educated to detect diseases, treat them and assist patients in living a healthier lifestyle.  A major difference between PA education and physician education is the amount of time spent in their formal education.  In addition, physicians are required to do an internship after graduation from medical school and the majority of physicians complete a residency in a specialty following their internship.  PAs are not required to undertake an internship or residency.  They complete a preceptorship usually eight weeks in length.

Most physicians, who have worked with physician assistants, liked having them on staff. The American Medical Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Physicians and other medical groups support eh physician assistant profession by having voting members on the boards that accredit PA educational programs and certify individual PAs.

PAs enjoy a collegial relationship with other providers because physician assistants have demonstrated their commitment to their patients and their competence in delivering quality medical care.  Their training as team players enables them to work with other providers to ensure appropriate patient care in all settings.

According to the Eighth Report to the President and Congress on the Status of Health Personnel in the United States “physician assistants have demonstrated their clinical effectiveness both in terms of quality of care and patient acceptance.”

PA-C, physician assistant-certified means that the person who holds that title has passed the certification exam developed jointly by the National Board of Medical Examiners and the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA).  The NCCPA is an independent organization and its commissioners represent different national medical organizations and the PA profession.  Only graduates from accredited PA educational programs are allowed to take the initial exam.

To maintain that ‘C’ after the ‘PA’ title, a physician assistant must log 100 hours of continuing medical education every two years and take the national recertification exam every six years.  The certification and recertification exams help ensure there is a core medical and surgical knowledge that each PA-C should attain and maintain.

The American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) is the only national professional society to represent all physician assistants in every area of medicine.  Founded in 1968, the Academy represents PAs in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and the federal services.  Its mission is to provide quality, cost-effective and accessible health care, as well as to support the professional and personal development of physician assistants.  AAPA pursues these goals through government relations and public education programs, research and date collection efforts and continuing education activities.

For any further questions or clarification on the above information, the AAPA can be contacted at (703) 836-2272 or by visiting the website at www.aapa.org.

School of Allied Health

Lindegren Hall 129, Mailcode 6516
Ph: 618-453-5527, Fax: 618-453-7216, E-mail:  pa_advisement@siumed.edu

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The PA Program Admissions Committee will also accept the MCAT along with the GRE and MAT.

The Physician Assistant Program is accredited by the ARC-PA

The Masters Completion Program is accredited by the Higher Learning of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools ncahigherlearningcommission.org