Janki Gandhi, PA-C Physician Assistant
Licensed PA in Cardiothoracic Surgery since 2006 Education: Bachelors in Health Sciences from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (Boston, MA) Masters in Physician Assistant Studies from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (Boston, MA) Certificate as a Cardiothoracic Surgery PA from Duke University (Durham, NC)
For nearly 50 years PAs have been part of the healthcare team Nationally certified and state licensed to practice medicine Certified PAs can: Obtain medical histories Perform physical exams Diagnose and treat illnesses Order and interpret labs Assist in surgery Prescribe medications Provide patient education and counseling Round on patients in nursing homes and hospitals
Currently, more than 95,000 certified PAs work in every medical and surgical setting across the county (AAPA 2013 Salary Report) A strong foundation in general medicine allows PAs the flexibility to change subspecialties Educated at the graduate level and practice in almost every medical and surgical subspecialty Emergency Medicine Cardiology Internal Medicine/Allergy Dermatology General Surgery and all surgical subspecialties OB-Gyn Pediatrics PAs cannot perform anesthesia or deliver babies alone solely under PA licensure
Arrive at 6.30 I can be in case till noon then lunch then round on floor and see postops/consults then round with physician at the end of the day usually around 5 or 6pm If not in the OR I round on patients on the floor, see consults, sometimes see office patients, then round with physician at the end of the day before leaving around 6 Take call usually 1 day a week and 1 to 2 weekends a month In the OR I harvest conduit for coronary artery bypass surgery, first and second assist for all types of cardiothoracic cases (valves, VADs, CABGs, thoracic, etc.) On the floor I write orders, admit and discharge patients, write prescriptions, pull chest tubes, place lines, and perform minor procedures as deemed necessary by my supervising physician
You might enjoy a job as a PA if you Enjoyed Biology class and Anatomy class Did well in science classes Interested in the human body Volunteered at a hospital or nursing home and enjoyed working in a medical setting Helpful to shadow a PA
One of the fastest growing professions in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics expect the number of PAs to increase by 38% between 2012 and 2022 (New York Times 1 August 2014. Web. 12 December 2014) Between 6,500 and 7,000 new PAs are joining the workforce every year (New York Times 1 August 2014. Web. 12 December 2014) Forbes Magazine ranked the Master s Degree in PA Studies as the number one degree for jobs, citing a 20% growth rate for the profession (NCCPA Survey 2014) NCCPA estimates there will be more than 125,000 certified PAs before the end of 2018 (NCCPA Survey 2014) The Cleveland Clinic currently employs about 400 PAs across many specialties and has openings for 30 more. Of note, only 10 years ago they had about 50 PAs employed. (New York Times 1 August 2014. Web. 12 December 2014) Strong job market: 78.1% of recent graduates in 2013 had multiple job offers (NCCPA Survey 2014)
Currently, 180 accredited PA programs in the country and expected to grow to 250 programs by 2018 Most programs currently offer a Master s Degree, and by 2020 all PA programs must offer a Master s Degree to be accredited (NCCPA Survey 2014) Average PA program 26.4 months long (Physician Assistant Educational Programs in the U.S., Twenty Eighth Annual Report, 2011-2012) Students usually complete courses in basic sciences, behavioral sciences, and clinical medicine across a number of subjects then complete a total of more than 2,000 hours of clinical rotations in: Family Medicine Internal Medicine/Geriatrics OB-GYN Pediatrics General Surgery Emergency Medicine Psychiatry
Typical student has a Bachelors Degree and healthcare experience Bachelors Degree can be in any field, but the student needs to have taken a core set of pre-med classes such as biology, chemistry, microbiology, biochemistry, anatomy and physiology GPA requirement usually over 3.0 Most graduate programs now require a GRE for admission Most programs like applicants to have had hands-on experience with patients, at least a minimum of 6 months (i.e.: medical assistant, certified nursing assistant, E.M.T., or phlebotomist) Required patient care hours vary by PA program from 400 hours to over 2,000 hours Volunteering and Medical Translator do not qualify as patient care hours
1. Quinnipiac University 2. Georgia Regents University 3. Duke University 4. The University of Iowa 5. Pace University New York 6. Pacific University Oregon 7. Northeastern University 8. University of Kentucky 9. University of Colorado Denver 10. Eastern Virginia Medical School 11. University of New Mexico 12. James Madison University 13. Indiana University Perdue University Indianapolis 14. Midwestern University Glendale, AZ 16. Emory University 17. Stony Brook University SUNY 18. Drexel University 19. The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston 20. University of Pittsburgh 21. Hofstra University 22. The University of Washington Seattle 23. University of California Davis 24. Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences 25. The George Washington University 26. Tufts University http://www.graduateprograms.com/top-physicianassistant-programs/
After graduating from an accredited program, the PA takes a board exam (Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam) to be nationally certified and then get licensed by the state they wish to practice in To maintain their certification, PAs must complete a recertification exam every 10 years and complete 100 hours of continuing medical education every 2 years
There are PA residency programs that provide postgraduate specialty training in certain subspecialties Most can be completed within 12 months The training allows the student to be a more attractive candidate to the employer and allow for a higher responsibilities and salary upon starting work
http://www.aapa.org/saaa pa/ (student academy) http://www.nccpa.net/ (PA credentialing board website) http://www.arc-pa.org/ (accreditation board for PA programs website) http://www.aaspa.com/ (American Association for Surgical PAs) http://www.paeaonline.org / (PA education association) www.paforum.com (blog for PAs and student PAs)