Becoming A Physician Assistant

The physician assistant (PA) profession has been described as “one of the greatest innovations of the last half of the 20th century.”1(p1) The profession has been established for less than fifty years, but it has managed to develop and expand vastly within those years consisting of more than 105,000 certified physician assistants and more than 170 accredited physician assistant programs. Simply stated, a physician assistant is defined as a certified medical professional responsible for providing medical care and treatment under the supervision of a physician. In order to completely understand the role and importance of physician assistants in the medical field, the history of the profession must be acknowledged.

While writing about oneself might be one of the hardest things for some of us to do, I'm sure that figuring out the personality of the person behind the words might be equally as hard. So I'll try to make this as simple yet as comprehensive as possible. I was born in Austria to Somali parents and grew up in Saudi Arabia, went to med school in Sudan and am finally here to practice medicine in Canada. So as you might see, the common question 'Where are you from?' takes a little longer for me to answer as do other Somali refugees around the world and am glad to finally find a place I can truly call home.

Have you ever wanted to be a physician assistant? If you do, it is a challenge to be accepted in PA (physician assistant) school. There are over one hundred and twenty-five PA programs in the United States. A physician's signature is required on some percentage of the charts of patients whom PAs treat in twenty-four states. This job is considered to be the second best job America.

A medical assistant is the perfect first step to entering the medical field. It is a growing profession and more than 16,000 jobs are estimated to become accessible to future medical assistants in the United States by 2022 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The amount of jobs that are currently held by medical assistants is 591,300. Which are broken up into 59% at physician’s offices, 15% in hospitals, 10% in offices of other healthcare professionals and 7% in outpatient care centers. The average pay per hour is $14 which can be increased based upon experience and location.

Choosing a career path starts in high school. The choices you make, the classes you take, and the activities you're involved in all matter in the path that you're pursuing. The competitiveness of your career path will vary, the more competitive the career path is the more that you need to offer to the colleges you apply to. My research consisted of finding the facts about the work involved, the lifestyle, and the pay of a general physician and a physician assistant. I have concluded from my research that I want to pursue a career as a physician's assistant.

After having a horrific knee injury, I became interested in Orthopedics. My whole life I have been interested in achieving a job in the medical field. Going to a hospital for any reason, always was the fascination of my day. I never thought of becoming a physician assistant until I sat down with my mom one night to help me decide my future. My dream job would be to pursue a career as a Physician Assistant and specialize in Orthopedics. A physician assistant, known as a PA, is someone who practices medicine on teams with physicians, surgeons, and other healthcare workers. They also examine, diagnose, and treat patients. The role of a physician assistant is basically just like the physician. They do the same task an attending does, except perform

Even though the medical profession seems to be swamped with choices, you will find it difficult to select one good option for your needs when you actually need to choose one. It means that you need to pre-plan and take appropriate action accordingly that will help you in becoming a successful medical professional.

Other things to keep in mind when applying for these physician assistant programs are things like the GRE and more importantly, the citizenship requirement that may intervene with my plans. Though I have a permit to legally reside and work in the United States, I am not considered a citizen or a permanent resident. This could be a big problem when applying because a requirement listed is that the applicant must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. Applicants should be citizens or permanent residents because insurance is required to participate in the clinical rotations. I believe this will be the most difficult part of my journey to becoming a PA but like all the other challenges I have faced due to my legal status, I will overcome it. I will use this personal issue in my favor by explaining that having to live with it has only made me more resilient and I would relate it back to their mission statements which all state that one of their priorities is to serve the underserved communities. Because of my status, I relate to these underserved communities because I

Monitoring patients and my performance in front of the patient. They have to be aware of their surroundings and keep calm. Speaking clearly to the patient and anyone they are talking to.

Physician Assistants are clinicians practicing in a physician extender role. They are found in almost every medical and surgical area in the U.S. and are appearing in both primary and specialist care settings in Canada. They perform similar tasks to their physician supervisors, including examination, diagnosis, diagnostic testing, treatment, referrals and prescribing. Research shows PAs to be capable of giving care, comparable to that of physicians for similar services.

Before investing time and money to become a physician's assistants you need to ask yourself is this really the career for me? Do i have what it takes to succeed in my career choice? There are a few traits i believe all physicians assistants need to have. The first thing anyone in the medical field needs to have is to be compassionate towards helping people in need. Being a physician's assistant is all about diagnosing treating and helping people when needed. While doing this you must have good people skills to interact and to get patients to open up to you easier. A physician must also be very detail oriented because in some situations the smallest details make all the difference. https://www.gapmedics.com/blog/2014/09/11/10-traits-every-physician-assistant-needs/

Attending a physician 's assistant (PA) program has been my desire since beginning work in the mental health field. I am a licensed professional counselor intern (LPC-Intern) working towards full licensure as a licensed professional counselor (LPC). I conduct individual and group psychotherapy sessions in a private practice and a mental health hospital. I enjoy doing therapy with clients, however, I want to include another perspective into my treatment, the medical perspective.

I changed my major a few times until I finally decided to become a physician assistant also known as a PA. It started when I realized i have a passion for medicine. About 6 months ago I broke my hand and during the rehabilitation period I was inspired by my orthopedic physician. I had originally wanted to become an Orthopedic surgeon but as time when on i started being a little bit more realistic. School has never been my strong suit. An orthopedic surgeon has to go through 4 years of college, 4 years of med school and another 5 years of clinicals. Thats a lot of time in school for someone who doesn’t like being there in the first place. Most people think becoming a PA takes just as long but surprisingly it only takes about 2 years.

Mark Twain once said, “The two most important days in your life are the day you were born and the day you figure out why.” Personally, the second day came when I discovered the physician assistant profession and subsequently the Master of Physician Assistant program at MCPHS University. From then on all of my life experiences as an EMT, shadowing, and working have fervently inspired me to become the best possible physician assistant I can be.

The enactment of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010 brought many changes to the United States health care system. Many Americans that did not have health coverage were finally able to acquire a health plan. Unfortunately, the increased influx of patients with new health coverage affected the clinician-to-population ratio. In addition, aging Baby Boomers have worsened the problem of an overflowing patient population. Currently, the United States faces a shortage of clinicians. Physician assistants (PAs), are licensed health professionals trained under a medical education model that can effectively fill the shortage of clinicians in the nation by providing health services and accommodating the imminent influx of patients.