What Is a PA?
What is a PA?
What is a Physician Assistant? A physician assistant (PA) is a nationally certified
and state-licensed medical professional who provides healthcare services typically
performed by a physician under the supervision of physicians and surgeons. PAs are
concerned with preventing and treating human illness and injury by providing a broad
range of healthcare as part of a healthcare team. Physician Assistants practice in
a wide variety of specialties and settings.
To perform at this level of responsibility, much of the education of physician assistants
is provided by physicians and highly skilled PAs in order to assure that the patient-care
functions provided by the physician assistant are equivalent in quality to those of
the physician who delegates them.
The Physician Assistant's scope of practice includes but is not limited to:
- Review/take patients’ medical histories
- Conduct physical exams
- Order and interpret diagnostic tests, such as x rays or blood tests
- Make diagnoses concerning a patient’s injury or illness
- Give treatment, such as setting broken bones and immunizing patients
- Educate and counsel patients and their families regarding preventive healthcare, management of health risk behaviors, patient medical issues
- Prescribe medications
- Research the latest treatments to ensure the quality of patient care
- Assist in surgery
- Perform therapeutic procedures such as suturing, removal of minor lesions and casting