Saturday, July 16, 2011

Here's the Real Reason Why You Should Be a Physician Assistant

Being a physician assistant is a very fulfilling and rewarding career that is filled with a ton of things to experience. Like all health care careers, this one requires someone who is passionate and self motivated when it comes to helping others who suffer on a day to day basis. You will be providing health care services for patients while at the same time earning a great salary. There really are a ton of excellent reasons why pursuing this career is a great idea. My first is the fact that it helps people. This is what's so rewarding about it in my opinion.
You're are using your skills to save someone's life or make it more bearable because there are going to be many patients that a physician assistant is going to come into contact with and many of them can't even get out of bed because its so painful. Helping to change their life for the better which is something that worth any salary one could ever receive.
Its very common that a PA who works in a hospital is going to be surrounded by patients on account of the fact that they have to see so many in one day, and I have to tell you that helping these people every day is worth more than a million dollars. Another reason why this is such a great career to get into is that you won't have to do job hunting when searching for an open physician assistant.
There is always going to be a high demand for a working PA no matter, and as a matter of fact the Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported that by the year 2016 there should be a 39% increase in the number of men and women in this career than there are now which is amazing. In 2009, PayScale.com reported that this was the second fastest growing job in America and the number of men and women who search for information on this career every day is in the millions.
This is the profession to get into. The reason why this job is so high in demand is because PAs can do many tasks that were traditionally meant to only be performed by an actual physician, and it is less costly to employ a physician assistant than it is to hire a physician. They are absolutely an important part of the health care team and physicians most definitely appreciate having a PA around because they relieve all the pressure that is on their shoulders concerning the number of patients they have to attend to.

Here's How Much You Can Make as a Working Physician Assistant

The medical profession of physician assistant without a doubt one of the best jobs in the health care industry, and its one of America's fastest growing jobs with more and more men and women entering into it every year. The American Academy of Physician Assistants, otherwise known as the AAPA, has defined this health care worker as a medical professional who has been the authority to practice medicine while they are under the supervision of a physician who has also been given their license to practice medicine.
Even though they work under a physician's supervision, they still work just hard as a physician with almost every day being hectic. To be honest, some physician assistants are on call for 24 hours straight and they're always on their feet. According to the website Indeed.com, which is a website for people who are job hunting, the average annual salary that a PA makes is in fact 11% higher than all the average salaries for all the jobs in the United States. This is nationwide, and the average salary that a physician assistant makes as of November 2009 has been reported at $75,000 which is absolutely worth it.
Its definitely worth all that time that you spent in school getting ready to get into this career. When you Google and job hunt for this career, you're going to see that there are many available jobs for PAs, especially the ones who are specialist in some type of medical field. When a physician assistant gets some years of experience under their belt and when they have specialized in a number of different fields, their salaries can be well over $100,000.
The salary for a PA varies much like that of almost every other career. Factors that can determine someone's salary is their qualifications, how many years of experience they have, where they work, the skills they have and whether or not they have specialized in an area of medicine. Physician assistants can specialize in many different fields of medicines that range from pediatrics, geriatrics, surgery, neonatal, family care medicine, emergency response medicine, orthopedics and there are many more.
Where there is a serious shortage of medical workers and physician assistants is where the salary for a PA is going to be the highest. A physician assistant who works in medical employment firm is going to earn more than those who work in different hospital departments.

Why is Physician Assistant the Best Health Care Career? Here's Why

A physician assistant is not a physician. They are clinicians who have been licensed to be able to practice medicine under the supervision of a physician in the United States. There are over 13.5 million jobs that are in the United States, and jobs in the health care industry are always growing in number. In fact, jobs in the health care industry are the fastest growing in the nation.

What Tasks and Services Do PAs Perform?
PAs have been trained to provide health care services in diagnostic area, therapeutic area, and preventative health care tasks as assigned to them by their supervising physician. As working members on the team of health care, PAs take the medical histories of patients and perform physician exams on them, they order laboratory tests and interpret the results of those tests, they diagnose and treat patient diseases and illnesses, and they assist surgeons in the surgery room. PAs are also able to treat minor injuries such as sutures, splints, and casting a broken bone. A physician assistant takes patient progress notes, and they give patient instructions and consultations after they are discharged from the hospital on how to stay healthy and how to properly do their therapy at their home.

What Training Does a PA have to Go Through?
PA programs are offered at colleges, and even community colleges. These programs generally lasts only 2 years and requirements and prerequisites are different for each program. Almost all of these programs require applicants to have at least 2 years of college and some experience in health care. However, all states require PAs to have graduated from an accredited PA program and to have passed the national board certification exam to obtain their license and start working in a medical institution.

What's a Good Reason to Become a PA?
According to the U.S. money magazine, the health care career of physician assistant is one of the fastest growing jobs in the United States. Its high in demand and it always will be due to the fact that in 2015 there will be a significant shortage of doctors and nurses. Salary.com lists the health care profession of PA to be the "fifth best job in America" based on its salary and benefits. The U.S. Department of Labor Statistic reports that employment for PAs is expect to rise "much faster than average for all occupations through the year 2014, ranking among the fastest growing occupations." The AAPA has reported that first year PA graduates can expect to start earn $65,000 a year. Salary will increase based on work experience, disciplinary record and geographic location. This is a great career to get into.

How the Growth of Physician Assistants Makes Medical Care more Accessible

A physician assistant is a important member of the health care industry. As people, the most important thing we need to look out for is our own health. The health care industry and medicine in general is rapidly changing, and there has been a steep decline in physicians. This is a serious problem. Patients need health care but there aren't a lot of doctors around to provide this care. This is evident in rural areas and inner cities.

According to a study that was done by the Council on Graduate Medical Education, the increase in America's population will exceed the number of practicing physicians after the year 2015. This is terrifying and what's even more terrifying is that they have determined that by the year 2020, there will be a shortage of 85,000 medical doctors in the United States. It's the year 2011 and there has already been a noticeable change in the number of physicians around. Thousands of men and women in the U.S. are going without health care for weeks and months even because there isn't a doctor available yet to see them.

Its because of the increasing number in the amount of PAs in the states that men and women are beginning to have more options in their health care. Its was the U.S. military that first came up with the idea of a assistant for doctors back in 1965, and that was basically the beginning. The physician assistant became an actual medical profession that didn't require a person having to go all through medical school to become one. A medical professional who is a PA is a person that has their certification that makes them able to work under the supervision of a licensed physician. Assistants will usually have the credentials "PA-C" on their lab coats making them easily distinguishable.

These men and women are able to perform tasks that were traditionally always done by a physician. They perform tasks such as giving patients physical exams, they diagnose, treat and manage diseases that chronic or acute, they have the ability to write prescriptions for patients, and they assist the surgeon during surgery. To become a PA you have to complete requirements that involve coursework, and clinical rotations in departments such as emergency, family, internal medicine, pediatrics, women's health, and orthopedics.
When you do graduate from your physician assistant program, you will have to pass the national certification exam that is administered by the National Board of Medical Examiners and the National Commission on the Certification of Physician Assistants. As a PA, you'll also be required to complete 100 hours of continuing medical education every 2 years, and every 6 years you will be required to take a re-certification exam.