Booking an appointment at your primary care office or a specialty practice? You may have the option of scheduling with a physician assistant (PA).
What are physician assistants? PAs are licensed clinicians who can diagnose and treat patients in a wide variety of settings.
They work in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. In fact, collectively, PAs have more than 500 million patient interactions every year.
Like nurse practitioners (NP), PAs have an advanced degree and can prescribe medication. Nurse practitioners and physician assistants work at UPMC practices and see patients. However, they aren’t the same thing (more about that below).
PAs have been around since the late 1960s. But many people still aren’t clear what PAs treat and how they work with patients. Here’s what PAs do and the benefits of scheduling with one.
What Do Physician Assistants Do?
The title “physician assistant” sometimes confuses people. While a PA works alongside a supervising doctor, they are clinicians with their own patients.
It’s important to note that it isn’t physician’s assistant. There’s no apostrophe, and PAs aren’t assistants to physicians. Although PAs are part of a care team, and they work independently.
So what are PAs able to do? When it comes to providing care, a great many things, including:
- Examining patients.
- Taking medical histories.
- Diagnosing illnesses and conditions.
- Prescribing medication.
- Performing procedures.
- Ordering tests (and interpreting them).
- Counseling on preventive care.
- Assisting in surgery.
- Doing patient rounds.
- Conducting clinical research.
In addition to seeing patients in primary care settings, PAs work in every specialty as well. From heart and vascular to gastroenterology to orthopedics, PAs see people for a wide range of conditions. They also work in hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, schools, and other places.
What Training Do PAs Have?
Physician assistants get specialized training at PA school, which is a master’s level program. According to the AAPA, there are about 300 programs in the U.S. and admission is competitive.
To get admitted, students need a bachelor’s degree, at a minimum. Most candidates also bring have experience working in the medical field.
PA curriculum is modeled on how medical school is set up. Most PA programs take about three years. They include classroom work and 2,000 hours of clinical rotations.
PAs do rotations in:
- Family medicine.
- Internal medicine.
- Obstetrics and gynecology.
- Pediatrics.
- General surgery.
- Emergency medicine.
- Psychiatry.
But they can focus on various specializations, such as neurology, radiology, cardiology, and other clinical areas.
PAs have to pass a rigorous certifying exam. They have to re-certify every 10 years and take continuing education credit hours to keep their certification.
Benefits to Seeing a PA
There are many benefits to seeing a physician assistant.
First, it may be easier to schedule care with a PA. In fact, 92% of people said having a PA at a practice makes it easier to get appointments.
This is especially true at a busy practice that does a high volume of procedures. With a shortage of doctors in some specialties and practices, PAs help to fill the gap.
Also, PAs can diagnose and treat most of the conditions that bring people to the practice. Because PAs must get continuing education credits every two years, they stay current on latest treatments.
PAs also have extensive training in preventive care and chronic conditions. They can talk to you about your health, from a holistic standpoint.
For example, you may come in for one condition, and in talking with you, they suspect another issue. A PA can refer you to a specialist or other practitioner, the same as an MD would.
They can also review test results and work with you and the practice physician to create treatment plans. When you’re anxious about getting results, this can be a comfort.
A 2022 study by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) asked people about the care they received from PAs. The study found that 93% of patients were satisfied with the care they received from a PA. Respondents also said they felt like PAs had more time to spend with them.
What’s the Difference Between a Physician Assistant and a Physician?
PAs have the training to do about 80% of the things that a medical doctor (MD) can do. While they can do some procedures, PAs can’t perform surgery. But they can assist during some surgical procedures.
The training and certification is different for PAs and MDs. PAs have two years of graduate education, and a year of hands-on experience. MDs have four years of medical school, and three to seven years of residency and specialized training.
How Are Physician Assistants and Nurse Practitioners Different?
PAs and NPs are similar in that both have advanced degrees and can prescribe medicine. But their education and training is different.
PA programs are modeled on medical school curriculum. NP programs train students in the advanced practice of nursing.
PAs are trained as medical generalists. That means they have diagnostic and treatment skills that carry across areas of medicine, age, and gender.
NPs usually train with a specific health population, such as pediatrics, women’s health, neonatal, or other focus areas. Most NPs are certified in the area of primary care.
Finally, PAs must do 2,000 hours of clinical rotations in several different areas. NPs need 1,000 hours of supervised clinical practice.
UPMC has both PAs and NPs who see patients. Both are a vital part of our care team. In fact, our Office of Advanced Practice Providers was recently recognized by the AAPA for its excellence.
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