Has the though of training as a physician’s assistant ever crossed your mind? Though this position does not call for a PhD, it does deal with treating illness and other health care services. You will of course be working a physician’s office under supervision, and in some cases acting as a physician. In addition to that you will be able to counsel on preventive health care, assist in surgery, write prescriptions, and even give medical orders. There are many people that like to see the PA when the regular physician is busy.
What is Required
As of this writing, there are actually one hundred and forty nine accredited physician assistant programs within the continental United States. The biggest problem at the moment of course is that it is impossible for anyone to agree on what the requirements actually are. Obviously you must have passion for your job, which is to be expected. After all, how could you effectively perform any job if you do not have passion?
Knowledge of physiology, biochmeistry, and anatomy will be an absolute must if you plan to enter the field. If you have any trouble with these area, then you won’t have an easy time of it in the PA field.
Before anyone is admitted as a physician’s assistant they must appear before an admissions committee, and there will be considerable weight placed upon the credit hours each semester, the difficulty of coursework, standardized test scores, extracurricular activities, and of course the reputation of the college or university attended. It is generally accepted that a student should have at least four years in the field. The general preference is that you have experience in allied health, emergency services, nursing, medical volunteerism, and even trainer occupations. While you are not likely to be admitted without meeting the requirements, it is not impossible.
A high school diploma or GED goes hand in hand with all of the other requirements. Doing this job effectively will demand that you have maturity to handle it, which is oten a tall order. You will need the ability to lead, which comes standard with being a PA.
As with any job in the medical field, things are changing all the time, and with that being the case you need to be ready for those changes. This will of course entail catching up on all the latest medical texts, and ensuring that you are ready the moment a new technology or technique is unveiled. This will include new pharmaceuticals of course, and while these items may not be common knowledge, but these updates are generally filed with the FDA and will be available for study. That said, it’s not all action. There are difficult patches and lots of study. This is a very demanding field, and if you meet the tough requirements, then you’re definitely going to land a great job in the field.
