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.