The physician assistant or PA is a healthcare profession who works under the supervision a licensed physician. Before you really get into this profession, you have to do some researches about what are the tasks that carried out by a PA. It is better that you meet any fresh graduate from this field of study and try to get the opinions from them. Take some time to evaluate their feedback before you start your journey of becoming a PA.
Once you have decided to start this journey, all you need to do is to look for a college or school which offers accredited PAs. Normally, this particular program takes two years to complete.
Initially, it is important to look into the types of training required in your country. Some countries require the Basically, PAs must have an academic qualification at least a bachelor degree in pure science such as bachelor degree in chemistry or biology. Other than that, a PA must have good moral conduction and must be at least 21 years old and above.
During the training, students will undergo training related to medical studies like:
- Pathology
- Human anatomy and physiology
- Pharmacology
- Microbiology
- Internal medicine
- Pediatrics
- Emergency medicine
- Obstetrics and gynecology
- Geriatrics
- Surgery
- Psychology
Both theory and practical are trained in this period. Students are also required to perform physical examination on patients as a part of their course work. Occasionally, students have to work more than one of these rotations under supervision.
After theory exams and practical training, students are required to sit for the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE) in order to obtain the license of this profession.