A career as a Physician’s Assistant

An increasing popular option for a career in the various medical fields.

Careers in the physicians industry are not limited only to fully fledged physicians with a surge in popularity for the role of physicians assistant.

A physician’s assistant is a licensed professional who practices medicine under the supervision of a licensed physician and are primarily concerned with the treatment and prevention of serious illness and injuries across a large range of health care services and branches.

A physician’s assistant will work in unison with their supervising physician to complement their medical practice, assist with their patients and other medical issues that can arise, to the point where they can exercise autonomy in medical decision making.

Physicians Assistants duties:

• obtain medical histories
• order treatments
• perform examinations and procedures
• prescribe medication
• diagnose illnesses
• interpret diagnostic tests
• refer patients to specialists
• first-assist in surgery
• practicing under their guiding Physician’s supervision

When it comes to the supervising physician, this can quite often be off-site or through telecommunications, meaning that a Physician’s Assistant will work quite independently of their supervisor, with their diagnosis and actions reviewed by the leading physician.

The choices of where a physician’s assistant can work are only really limited by the borders of the health care industry, with study and training available that allows them to specialise in their medical field of interest. Additionally, physician’s assistants also have the opportunity to move between different medical and surgical fields during their careers.

The educational requirements of a career as a physician’s assistant include the adequate training and interning programs with a choice then of which medical specialty or field to focus on.  Generally speaking the criteria of maintaining a career as a physician’s assistant will be continuing medical education, with 100 hours of every two years. Subjects that would be studied include English, biology, chemistry, psychology and mathematics with postgraduate programs available in a range of medical fields such as internal medicine, surgery, family medicine, prenatal care and gynaecology, emergency medicine, geriatrics and paediatrics.

Physician’s assistants are also open to continue their education at any time by completing the necessary additional training and educational programs to be classed as a physician.