Q. What kinds of conditions can PAs treat, and what situations require physician care?
A. The Scope of the PA's practice corresponds to the supervising physician's practice. In general, a physician assistant will see many of the same types of patients as the physician. The cases handled by physicians are generally the more complicated medical cases or those cases which require care that is not a routine part of the PA's scope of work.
.....Referral to the physician, or close consultation between the patient, PA, and physician, is done for unusual or hard-to-manage cases. Physician assistants are taught to know when it is appropriate to refer to physicians. It is an important part of PA training.

Q. Can PAs prescribe medications?
A. Forty states plus the District of Columbia and Guam authorize PAs to write and sign prescriptions without a physician co-signature.

Q. Where do physician assistants work?
A. 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 member of the medical team taking care of the President and Vice President. The U.S. government, which has helped fund PA education since 1971, 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 virtually every medical and surgical specialty. Although the majority of PAs work in primary care medicine—family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, and obstetrics and gynecology—many also work in specialty medicine, such as cardiothoracic surgery and orthopedics. PAs may also work in the areas of medical education, health administration, and research.

Q. What's the difference between a PA and a physician?
A. Physician assistants are trained in medicine, just like physicians, and in some programs PAs attend many of the same classes as medical students.
.....A major difference between PA education and physician education is not the core content of the curriculum, but the amount of time spent in school. on average, an accredited course of study for a PA takes approximately 108 weeks to complete, compared to 153 weeks for the typical medical school program. Physicians are required to do an internship, and the majority also complete a residency in a specialty following the internship. PAs do not have to undertake an internship or residency.
.....A physician has complete responsibility for the care of the patient. PAs share that responsibility with physicians. Physicians are independent practitioners. PAs practice medicine with the supervision of physicians.

Q. What is the education process for a PA?
A. Most physician assistant programs require applicants to have previous health care experience and some college education. The typical applicant, though, has a bachelor's degree and over four years of health care experience prior to entering the program. Commonly, nurses, EMTs, 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 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 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 word on campus.
.....A PA's education doesn't stop after graduation, though. To keep abreast of medical advances, PAs are committed to lifelong learning. PAs take continuing medical education classes throughout their career and sit for a national re-certification exam every six years.

Q. What does "C" in PA-C mean?
A. Physician assistant-certified. It means that the person who holds this title has passed the certification exam developed by the National Board of Medical Examiners and administered by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA). The NCCPA is an independent organization, and its commissioners represent different medical organizations and the PA profession. Only graduates from accredited PA programs are allowed to take the initial exam.
.....To maintain that "C" aft "PA", a physician assistant must log 100 hours of continuing medical education every two years and take the national re-certification exam every six years. The certification and re-certification exams help ensure a core competency of medical/surgical knowledge that each PA-C should attain and maintain.

Q. How did the profession begin?
A. 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, Dr. Eugene Stead of 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 considerable medical training during their military service but who had no comparable civilian employment opportunities. Stead based the curriculum of the PA program in part on his knowledge of the fast-track training of doctors during World War II.

Q. Have physician assistants been accepted on the health care team?
A. Most physicians who have worked with physician assistants like having PAs on staff. Many medical groups support the physician assistant profession by having voting members on the PA certifying commission and the PA program accrediting body.
.....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.
.....The Eighth Report to the President and Congress on the Status of Health Personnel in the United States (releases in 1992) states that "physician assistants have demonstrated their clinical effectiveness both in terms of quality of care and patient acceptance."

Q. What is the American Academy of Physician Assistants?
A. the AAPA is the only national professional society to represent all physician assistants in every area of medicine. Founded in 1968, the Academy has a federated structure of 57 chartered chapters representing 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 PAs. AAPA purses these goals through government relations and public education programs, research and data collection efforts, and continuing education activities. 

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