PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT Education and Practice Donna DeGracia MPAS, PA-C St. Catherine University MPAS Program
History of PA Profession Started in the mid 1960s to address shortage of primary care physicians Training based on fast-track training of doctors during World War II First class made up of Navy Hospital Corpsmen with considerable medical training during military service
What is a PA? Nationally certified and state-licensed medical professional Practice medicine on healthcare teams with physicians and other providers Practice and prescribe medication in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and all U.S. territories with the exception of Puerto Rico Practice in some other countries throughout the world
What can a PA do? Take a medical history Conduct physical exams Diagnose and treat illness Order and interpret tests Develop treatment plans Counsel on preventive care Assist in surgery Write prescriptions Make rounds in hospitals and nursing home
Specific duties and limitations Depend on: Practice setting Level of experience and expertise Specialty State laws
PA practice settings Hospitals Physician offices Rural and urban community health centers Nursing homes Retail clinics School and university-based facilities Industrial settings Correctional institutions Uniformed services and other federal government agencies
Training Admission Requirements Same prerequisite courses as medical schools ~ 3 years of healthcare training and/or experience Program ~ 26 months (3 academic years) Graduated with a masters degree
Academic training Basic sciences Behavioral sciences Clinical medicine Anatomy Pharmacology Microbiology Physiology Legal and ethics
Clinical training 2,000 hours Family medicine Internal medicine Obstetrics and gynecology Pediatrics General surgery Emergency medicine Psychiatry Electives
Certification and licensure Graduate from an accredited PA program Pass the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (based on recommendations by the National Board of Medical Examiners) Get licensed by the state of practice
Maintenance of certification Recertification exam every 10 years 100 hours of continuing medical education every 2 years Certificate of Added Qualifications available in: Cardiovascular/thoracic surgery Emergency medicine Hospital medicine Nephrology Orthopedic surgery Pediatrics Psychiatry
Area of practice % Area of practice % Adolescent medicine 0.2 Otolaryngology 0.9 Anesthesiology 0.3 Pathology <0.1 Critical care medicine 1.0 Pediatrics 1.9 Dermatology 4.3 Pediatric sub-specialties 1.0 Emergency medicine 13.9 Physical medicine/rehabilitation 1.0 Family medicine/general practice 20.5 Preventive medicine/public health 0.1 Gynecology 0.4 Psychiatry 1.1 Hospital medicine 2.5 Radiation oncology 0.2 Internal medicine- General practice 5.4 Radiology 0.7 Internal medicine sub-specialty 7.7 Surgery general 2.2 Neurology 0.8 Surgery sub-specialty 19.1 OB/GYN 1.5 Urology 1.4 Occupational medicine 1.3 Other 10.2 Ophthalmology 0.1
PAs in primary care (National) 27.7% work in primary care: Family medicine/general practice General internal medicine General pediatrics ~20% in each of the following: Family medicine/general medicine Surgical sub-specialties
Minnesota PAs 33% in primary care 67% in non-primary care
Practice setting (national) Setting % Setting % Office based practice 40.0% Extended care/nursing home 0.5% Hospital 36.5% Ambulatory surgical center 0.4% Federal gov. facility/hospital/unit 6.0% Behavioral/mental health facility 0.3% Community health center 3.5% Rehabilitation facility 0.2% Rural health clinic 2.7% Free clinic 0.2% Public or community health clinic (non-federally qualified) School-based or collegebased health center Occupational health setting 0.9% 1.5% Home health care agency 0.1% 0.9% Hospice <0.1%
PA Practice 76.5% practice in either office-based private practice or a hospital setting Average number of hours worked per week in principal clinical position: 40.57 Average number of patients seen per week in principal clinical position: 70
Recently certified PAs and jobs (%) 80.00% 70.00% 60.00% 50.00% 40.00% 30.00% 20.00% 10.00% 0.00% Accepted clinical position as PA Searched for but not yet accepted Neither searched nor accepted
Additional number of job offers received 21.90% 25.80% 23.50% 16.50% 7.00% 2.50% 2.80% 0 no other offers 1 2 3 4 5 6 or more offers
PA wages (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
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