Physician Assistant?

Question

I'm currently an undergrad. Biology major, in my sophomore year. I was planning on transfering into Nursing, however after hearing some of the clinicals, i'm afraid i won't be able to do it. After researching other options in the medical field (Def. want a medical field career.) i ran across a Physician Assistant...

Questions: What exactly is one? Ive never heard of them. Also, living in the Boston area, is the pay good? I'm doing average in my Biology Courses this year , but i do have a good understanding and a willingness to try in them. Where do they offer programs to become one? And what does the job entail? Any info would be fabulous! thanks in advance!

Answer 1

A PA can do pretty much anything a doctor can do, but they are under the supervision of a physician. They see patients, diagnose and treat them, and can even prescribe medication. How much you do as a PA depends on how much your supervisor trusts you and how busy they are. You can go into all different fields, even surgery, and unlike doctors who have to go back to school to learn a new specialty, you can just switch without going back to school if you choose.



Schools usually require a decent GPA, not as high as med schools expect, usually around a 3.25. The program I'm in, you need to go to clinicals, so if you don't like the idea of clinicals, this may not be for you. You have to remember though that if you're going into a medical career, you need the hands on experience that clinicals will give you; you don't want to go straight from books to handling people, you need to have the "real life" learning also.



I'm in the Marquette program, but if you go to www.aapa.org, you can find a whole bunch of more information and they have a list of programs.



Good luck and I hope you find something that suits you!

Answer 2

A physician assistant, or PA, is what is known as a mid level practitioner. They perform many of the same functions as a Doctor, but, technically require a supervising Dr. to be on site. If you are not overly excited about doing nursing clinicals then PA is not for you either unfortunately as they are very similar. There is a fairly reputable program at Alderson-Broadus College in Phillipi, West Virginia which is only a few hours drive from you. The starting salaries range from 50K-65K in most situations. Good luck and God bless.

Answer 3

Physiscian assistants can do whatever they are trained to do.



The one that recently handled me removed the surgical staples, washed my arm (one week after surgery), replaced the staples with tapes, put the arm into a splint and took me to the X-Ray area.



Some of that nurses don't get to do unless they are trained.



Another one cut my cast off and replaced it with a fibre glass one.