PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT
Education and Practice
Donna DeGracia MPAS, PA-C
St. Catherine University MPAS Program
History of PA Profession
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Started in the mid 1960s to address shortage of
primary care physicians
Training based on fast-track training of doctors
during World War II
First class made up of Navy Hospital Corpsmen with
considerable medical training during military
service
What is a PA?
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Nationally certified and state-licensed medical
professional
Practice medicine on healthcare teams with
physicians and other providers
Practice and prescribe medication in all 50 states,
the District of Columbia and all U.S. territories with
the exception of Puerto Rico
Practice in some other countries throughout the
world
What can a PA do?
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Take a medical history
Conduct physical exams
Diagnose and treat illness
Order and interpret tests
Develop treatment plans
Counsel on preventive care
Assist in surgery
Write prescriptions
Make rounds in hospitals and nursing home
Specific duties and limitations
Depend on:
 Practice setting
 Level of experience and expertise
 Specialty
 State laws
PA practice settings
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Hospitals
Physician offices
Rural and urban community health centers
Nursing homes
Retail clinics
School and university-based facilities
Industrial settings
Correctional institutions
Uniformed services and other federal government
agencies
Training
Admission Requirements
 Same prerequisite courses as medical schools
 ~ 3 years of healthcare training and/or experience
Program
 ~ 26 months (3 academic years)
 Graduated with a masters degree
Academic training
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Basic sciences
Behavioral sciences
Clinical medicine
Anatomy
Pharmacology
Microbiology
Physiology
Legal and ethics
Clinical training
2,000 hours
 Family medicine
 Internal medicine
 Obstetrics and gynecology
 Pediatrics
 General surgery
 Emergency medicine
 Psychiatry
 Electives
Certification and licensure
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Graduate from an accredited PA program
Pass the Physician Assistant National Certifying
Exam (based on recommendations by the National
Board of Medical Examiners)
Get licensed by the state of practice
Maintenance of certification
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Recertification exam every 10 years
100 hours of continuing medical education every 2
years
Certificate of Added Qualifications available in:
Cardiovascular/thoracic surgery
 Emergency medicine
 Hospital medicine
 Nephrology
 Orthopedic surgery
 Pediatrics
 Psychiatry
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Area of practice
%
Area of practice
%
Adolescent medicine
0.2
Otolaryngology
0.9
Anesthesiology
0.3
Pathology
<0.1
Critical care medicine
1.0
Pediatrics
1.9
Dermatology
4.3
Pediatric sub-specialties
1.0
Emergency medicine
13.9
Physical medicine/rehabilitation
1.0
Family medicine/general practice
20.5
Preventive medicine/public health
0.1
Gynecology
0.4
Psychiatry
1.1
Hospital medicine
2.5
Radiation oncology
0.2
Internal medicine- General practice 5.4
Radiology
0.7
Internal medicine sub-specialty
7.7
Surgery – general
2.2
Neurology
0.8
Surgery sub-specialty
19.1
OB/GYN
1.5
Urology
1.4
Occupational medicine
1.3
Other
10.2
Ophthalmology
0.1
PAs in primary care (National)
27.7% work in primary care:
 Family medicine/general practice
 General internal medicine
 General pediatrics
~20% in each of the following:
 Family medicine/general medicine
 Surgical sub-specialties
Minnesota PAs
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33% in primary care
67% in non-primary care
Practice setting (national)
Setting
%
Setting
%
Office based practice
40.0%
Extended care/nursing home
0.5%
Hospital
36.5%
Ambulatory surgical center
0.4%
Federal gov.
facility/hospital/unit
6.0%
Behavioral/mental health facility
0.3%
Community health center
3.5%
Rehabilitation facility
0.2%
Rural health clinic
2.7%
Free clinic
0.2%
Public or community health
clinic (non-federally qualified)
1.5%
Home health care agency
0.1%
School-based or collegebased health center
0.9%
Hospice
<0.1%
Occupational health setting
0.9%
PA Practice
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76.5% practice in either office-based private
practice or a hospital setting
Average number of hours worked per week in
principal clinical position: 40.57
Average number of patients seen per week in
principal clinical position: 70
Recently certified PAs and jobs (%)
80.00%
70.00%
60.00%
50.00%
40.00%
30.00%
20.00%
10.00%
0.00%
Accepted clinical Searched for but Neither searched
position as PA
not yet accepted
nor accepted
Additional number of job offers
received
25.80%
23.50%
21.90%
16.50%
7.00%
2.80%
2.50%
0
no other
offers
1
2
3
4
5
6 or more
offers
PA wages (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Questions?