Nurses And Physicians And Physician Assistants

The Physician Assistant (PA) and Nurse Practitioner (NP) career fields were the medical fields’ response to the physician shortage that began in the 1960s, but the shortage still exists today. As the population continues to grow, the gap continues to grow as well. Medical schools were having a hard time producing as many doctors that were needed to fill in the gaps in a timely manner, leaving the medical field looking for ways they could have health care providers diagnose and treat patients, but educated in half the time of a doctor. The PA program was then born out of the military. Medical doctors watched as military doctors and medics came back, but they had no formal training except for on-the-job training. The NP program was derived from previous midwifery program. Currently, as the physician shortage is still impending more and more PAs and NPs are being hired to fill in the gaps. This is causing many questions to arise: Are they qualified?, What kind of education do they have?, and Should I feel safe?. Patients want to know that they are getting excellent care, and that their medical providers are qualified to diagnose and treat patients accurately.

From a personal standpoint, the history of the physician assistant profession is remarkable, especially in regard to how established the profession became in such a rapid time. Ultimately, the profession was designed with the goal to benefit patients, and as a physician assistant, the approaches to accomplish this goal are infinite. Anyone would be honored to be a part of such an established profession and contribute to such a noble

However, I was uncertain of which career path I wished to pursue. I was given the privilege to shadow various healthcare physicians around the area, which could help determine which field of medicine was for me. Of the specialties I had observed, I found that anesthesiology was the most intriguing and I was immediately attracted to it. In order to acquire more information about the speciality, I applied to volunteer at East Georgia Regional Medical Center in the anesthesia department. I began assisting the anesthesia technician with her daily responsibilities. She eventually introduced me to many anesthetists there. After shadowing many anesthetists, I quickly learned that much of the patient interaction was with the anesthesiologist assistant or the certified registered nurse anesthetist rather than the anesthesiologist. I was thrilled to see the anesthetist comfort the patient as well as his family before the surgery. I, then, realized that I did not want to become a physician but rather an anesthesiologist assistant because I wanted to provide that administrative and comforting experience for the patients and their loved

I have had the opportunity to work with many health professionals, but my experience with PAs has solidified my path to becoming a PA. Devoting over 200 hours to shadow PAs of various specialties had allowed me to learn about pulmonary diseases and read CT scans in pulmonary, watch in awe at an ingrown toenail removal in urgent care, and observe patience and individual care in pediatrics. Although I was at the clinics for observation, I eagerly wanted to assist the PAs and care for the patients. I was fully immersed in the topics that were taught to me and found myself lusting for the knowledge and skills to become a PA.

Over the last few weeks, I have had the opportunity to experience some of the best and most difficult times of being a medical assistant. I have had hands on experience with patients of all different ages, races, religions, and personalities. These last few weeks have not only taught me patience, acceptance and boundaries of others, but I was able to learn more about myself as well. My externship experience has opened my eyes to the realities of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, physically and mentally, as well as the importance of family and friends. DePaul Medical Center and In Faith Psychological Services were the best locations I could have chosen for my first look into the life of a medical assistant.

In my time volunteering at the hospital, I hope to gain many different experiences. However, there are a few main ones: adaptation through enrichment and dependability. First of all, I want to get to know and adapt to the environment of the hospital and learn how different processes work. This is a crucial part of being in the atmosphere of a clinic. Also, the experiences that I will have at the hospital will help me to understand the routines and entailments of the career I would like to pursue. I hope to become a Physician’s Assistant in the future and this will be the best way to know if it is the right position for me. This enrichment of my understanding will help guide my passion for this career path and hopefully strengthen it.

For my interview, I spoke with one of the Nurse Practitioners (NP) that I interact with while working my shift at the hospital. I will call her Terri Smith because although I asked to use her quotes in my paper, I did not think to ask for permission to use her actual name. Where I work, many of our internal medicine physicians are hospitalists. During the night, they are covered by the umbrella of Quest Care. There are several NPs that work under the afore mentioned physicians and are there, on-call, when needed for their clinical expertise. It is nice, because even though I can’t develop much of a relationship with the doctors whose patients I work so hard to take care of, I get to have the opportunity to grow strong bonds with the NPs that I see almost every shift.

Although science has been my favorite subject in school for as long as I can remember, my passion for medicine started in fourth grade, after I spent three weeks in the hospital. The doctors and nurses were so good at explaining what was going on inside my body, and I learned so much about medicine and myself. It really improved my healing process knowing what was happening and how I could make myself feel better. From that moment on, I knew that I wanted a career helping others feel the same way. So, I met with my father’s friend, who was an anesthesiologist, to discuss all the options that are available in the medical field. After he listened to some of my interests and dreams for my future, he said that he thought

Anything worth having will not come without its share of challenges. No career path is going to be greener on the other side. Challenges that are brought about in any career is easier to endure if it is something that one is passionate about doing. In the health care field there are several challenges that healthcare workers must face. The role of the Physician Assistant also known as PA holds great responsibility and has challenges; some of which only a Physician Assistant would face. One challenge that is specific to Physician Assistants is the question of competency by the patient. Another is dealing with the feeling of not being properly compensated. Last but not least Physician Assistance endure working long and odd hours. However when one enjoys that chosen career, they will find a solutions to every obstacle or challenge that stands in their way.

At that time I felt that if I knew more about the body then I could have helped her before she had to face serious health issues. That was the biggest source of inspiration for me to become a part of healthcare world and devote myself to help others. I am very pleased to achieve my primary goal after becoming a successful Dental Hygienist (RDH). During my few last visits to my doctor's clinic, I have been mostly diagnosed and treated by Physician Assistant (PA). Some of my earlier conversations with PA about

You’d never think growing up a very sick dad and worried mom would have a made such a positive impact on my life. But in my case, it is the main reason why I have chosen to become a physician’s assistant (PA). In the beginning stages, I was too young to really understand the importance of the doctors and medical staff that worked countless hours to make this medical miracle happen, but as time went on, I began to comprehend the role of the people who were trying to save my dad’s life so he could watch his girls grow up. Seeing a multidisciplinary team of physicians, social workers, and dieticians work so well together to solve a problem made a lasting impression on me. I watched as they spent countless hours analyzing the numbers and evaluating my dad’s physical condition to solve the problem. Working so tirelessly showed how passionate and dedicated the team was. I can 't accredit a single person in that group of medical specialists that inspired me to be to become a physician assistant because each and every one of them played a tremendous role in my journey. I desire to become a PA so that

The experience I gained at the cardiology clinic and the hours shadowing at the Methodist Hospital emergency room are a pillar for the career of my choice. I want to be able to help those in need in my local community hospital. I feel the urge to give a hand to those that have guided me through the right path, from teaching me right from wrong to encouraging me to strive to be the best in life. At the Methodist hospital, I learned how to obtain patient’s medical history and entered data into Cerner, and I obtained consent from patients before procedures such as diagnostic imaging and casting. I observed physical examinations being performed by the physician assistant and it taught me that it is necessary to have knowledge to be able to diagnose and treat conditions and that interpersonal skills are essential for this career. Currently, I work for the department of health where I triage and register patients, assist physicians and nurse practitioner in the examination of patients, and assist with maintenance of inventory supplies and

With advances in medicine, Americans are living longer and with chronic illnesses that require long term medical maintenance. As the population has grown with patients that are aging and becoming sicker in the process, there has presented a shortage of physicians to manage this rise in demand. Now, with the passage of new legislation such as the Affordable Care Act, more patients have access to health care than ever before. Many experts have suggested increasing the utilization of Nurse Practitioners and Physicians assistants as a cost effective resource to tackle to rising cost of healthcare amid a physician shortage in America. Several studies have been performed to assess the viability of these options, to address the advantages and

Having the opportunity to test the waters on a career you’ve always dreamed about is useful in allowing a person to understand what they actually want to do with their lives. Ever since I was about four years old, I’ve wanted to go into the medical field in hopes of becoming a doctor. On June 30, 2016, I was granted the honor of shadowing Mrs. Tracey Robinson, a clinical nursing manager at Beaumont Hospital in Wayne, MI. This experience furthered my love of the medical field through a different perspective than what I was originally intending. Mrs. Robinson’s job is extremely important in making sure the IMC floor runs smoothly and orderly.

During my time there, I shadowed a pediatric doctor. While I was asking him questions, he was called into an emergency surgery, and I was unfortunately not old enough to watch according to the hospital restrictions. So as I was waiting around, a PA swooped me up and let me shadow her instead. I was embarrassed to admit to her that I was not aware of a PA’s responsibilities to the hospital. Throughout the rest of the day, I followed the PA into patient rooms and recovery rooms. I was able to observe how the PA interacted with patients with such a reassuring and caring attitude that I had not seen with the previous physician I had met. I not only respected her compassionate personality, but I related to it.