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 Field
Description
Physician assistants (PAs) provide diagnostic, therapeutic and preventive
health-care services under the supervision of physicians.
Working as members of the health-care team, PAs take medical histories,
examine and treat patients, order and interpret laboratory tests
and X-rays, make diagnoses and prescribe medications. They also
treat minor injuries by suturing, splinting and casting. PAs record
progress notes, instruct and counsel patients, and order or carry
out therapy.
Physician assistants may be the principal care providers in rural
or inner city clinics, where a physician is present for only one
or two days each week. In such cases, the PA confers with the supervising
physician and other medical professionals as needed or as required
by law. PAs also may make house calls or go to hospitals and nursing
homes to check on patients and report back to the physician.
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More About Physician Assistants
Many PAs work in primary care areas, such as family medicine, general
internal medicine and pediatrics . Others work in specialty areas,
such as general and thoracic surgery, emergency medicine, orthopedics
and geriatrics. PAs specializing in surgery provide preoperative
and postoperative care, and may work as first or second assistants
during major surgery. PAs also may supervise technicians and assistants.
The duties of physician assistants are determined by the supervising
physician and by state law. For example, in most of the United States
and the District of Columbia, physician assistants are licensed
to prescribe medications. Physician assistants should not be confused
with medical assistants, who perform clinical and administrative
clerical tasks.
Career Opportunities
Employment opportunities are excellent for physician assistants,
particularly in areas or settings that have difficulty attracting
physicians, such as rural and inner-city clinics. Employment of
PAs is expected to grow much faster than the average for all occupations
through the year 2010, due to anticipated expansion of the health
services industry and an emphasis on cost containment.
Today, more than 45,000 PAs are working across the United States.
With the Bureau of Labor Statistics projecting a 48 percent increase
in the number of jobs available for PAs through 2008, the job market
for PAs is strong in much of the country.
Physicians and institutions are expected to employ more PAs to
provide primary care and to assist with medical and surgical procedures
because PAs are cost-effective, productive members of the health-care
team. Physician assistants can relieve physicians of routine duties
and procedures. Telemedicine – using technology to facilitate
interactive consultations between physicians and physician assistants
– also will expand the use of physician assistants.
Besides the traditional office-based setting, PAs should find a
growing number of jobs in institutional settings, such as hospitals,
academic medical centers, public clinics and prisons.
In addition, state-imposed legal limitations on the numbers of
hours worked by physician residents are increasingly common and
encourage hospitals to use PAs to supply some physician resident
services. Opportunities will be best in states that allow PAs a
wider scope of practice.
Earning Potential
According to the American Academy of Physician Assistants, median
income for physician assistants in full-time clinical practice in
2000 was $65,177; median income for first-year graduates was $56,977.
Income varies by specialty, practice setting, geographical location
and years of experience.
Professional Organizations
Visit the following Web sites to learn more about physician assistants:
Mayo Clinic does not own or control any of these sites and is not responsible for their content. Inclusion of these sites does not imply endorsement by Mayo Clinic.
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