About
Physician Assistants are formally trained, licensed medical professionals. They do not work under a physician’s medical license but have a collaborative relationship with a physician supervisor on file. As advanced medical providers with autonomy, they are not to be confused with a medical assistant. They are trained to serve in a variety of clinical settings and in all medical specialties. Physician Assistants are rigorously trained in the same medical model as physicians. This training advances a PAs expertise in all areas of medicine in a condensed time frame. Training is roughly two-thirds the length of traditional medical school with 108 weeks of general primary care education. PAs enhance their chosen medical specialty in a structured residency program hand in hand with their physician colleagues. Physician Assistants are also required to pass a national medical certification board and recertify every six years.
PAs focus on preventing disease and illness, maintaining a patient’s good health and treating illness and injury by providing a broad range of health care services traditionally provided by a physician. They perform physicals, diagnose illnesses, order treatments and tests, interpret medical tests, provide counsel on preventive health care and write prescriptions.