Lee High School

Why is the Role of a Physician Assistant Important and What Skills Are Needed?

Physician Assistant

Brenda Mazariegos

Peter Foote

Senior Capstone

April 10, 2019

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Brenda Mazariegos

Peter Foote

Senior Capstone

17 April 2019

Role of Physician Assistants

Physician Assistants can provide care to patients under the supervision of a leading

physician. It is a career choice that has various specialties and is flexible. They are nationally

certified professionals who evaluate, diagnose, treat and care for patients with supervision. They

work in a team and collaborate with other medical professionals. ​The role of a physician

assistant is valuable to the current healthcare system because they can provide versatile

care, increase patient access to healthcare, and they alleviate some of the primary care

physician’s responsibilities.

The role of a physician assistant is valuable to the current healthcare system because they

can provide versatile care. A physician assistant plays a role in being able to diagnose and treat

patients. Most people who apply to physician assistant education programs will have four years

of education and will have a year or more of medical experience as well as physician schooling.

Physician Assistants are not commonly known, or their job title can be confusing. They both

need to be compassionate and loving towards their patients. They focus on the well being of

patients and focus on the problem they give so they can work together and find a solution.

“Overall there is no difference between a Physician Assistant and a physician. Both need to be

compassionate with their patients and be able to walk step by step with patients, making them
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feel comfortable.” (Werner). Doctors get their degree in one area where Physician Assistants are

able to go in multiple. A few of the top specialties for a physician includes Family Medicine,

Surgical, Emergency Medicine, Dermatology, Hospital Medicine, Pediatrics, and Gynecology.

Once they choose their desired area, they are trained more specifically for there, and will soon be

able to help out. Even so, if the PA wants to change specialties they are capable of doing so

because they can be retrained in a short amount of time. They fill in the missing gaps allowing

more access for the patients. A career as a physician assistant can lead you down many different

paths, allowing you to move into different areas that have more responsibility, more training, and

an even higher income (GetEducated pg 1).

In recent years there has been a shortage in the physician's community. Therefore a

Physician Assistant steps up and increases patient care access to healthcare. Every year that goes

by fewer people get their license in the physician world. A Physician Assistant goes to school

fewer years than a doctor; this is very cost effective for the person as a PA because they can

minimize their student debts and go into their profession much quicker. It makes it beneficial for

the local hospitals too because they are getting younger PA’s who can be in different areas of the

hospital. In fact, as of 2019 physician assistants are expected to continue and grow to plug the

gaps linked to the countries physician shortage (HealthLeaders).Doctors license in one area, and

if they ever want to go to a different area of the hospital such as a surgeon to OBGYN, they

would have to restart their schooling and go in to get new certifications. As well as doctors are

usually older when they finish their education. Whereas a PA can be done in the early ages of 20

with this, they can start working right away and the person themselves can get a start on their

career earlier on. "Given the youth of the profession, the broad-based knowledge, and skills of
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PAs, and the ability to provide services across all disciplines, PAs can ease physician shortages

and improve access to care” (HealthLeaders). Dr. Robert Kramer, said “They add to our

effectiveness and extend our activity. They play a vital role” (Fowler). Physician Assistant often

can be sent out to help with shortages in specialties, and experience the largest growth in

demand. They are very versatile when it comes down to their job description. When they go to

PA school, they have rotations where they can choose their top 3 areas when they would like to

experience/shadow in. Besides this they usually are trained in general care and given a little bit

of everything, accumulating lots of hours from PA school. “The first ten years of my career, I

worked as a hospitalist in internal medicine at Butterworth/Blodgett hospitals. In the past five

years, I switched over to work with cancer (and hematology) patients and many of the chronic

medical problems” (Berner). Apart from this, they cost beneficial for the hospital and patient.

Physician Assistants cost less for the hospital to have and employ them, meaning it increases

patient care access. This money is used to go towards bettering equipment and hiring more PA’s.

Places such as Canada have seen positive results from a doctor and PA collaborating. “wherever

physician assistants, the reception from doctors and patients has been positive, and they help

save money. An analysis by the Conference Board of Canada found that greater use of physician

assistants can save the Canadian health care system up to $1 billion by 2030” (Owens).

In addition to the increasing patient care access to healthcare, they are also able to

alleviate and help out main doctors. Since physician assistants license under general practice,

they train into the specialty they want to go into, and then soon work under the supervision of a

doctor. Doctors work with the patient they also have behind the scenes work they need to

complete, such as the diagnosing, providing and finding the right care for the person, and they
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have multiple patients they can see in one day. They have long shift hours and work on a team as

a leader, maybe even still going to school for more years. With a PA in the same field as a

doctor, they can observe or air the doctor with the diagnosing and take away some patients to

help relieve their schedule. “I think there is a need for physicians’ assistants. They help

physicians use time more effectively. They have a special place in a rural setting where doctors

might be lacking in” (Fowler). A PA is also allowed to go in by themselves as long as they report

and get an answer from the physician. It can be beneficial for the doctor if they have a tight

schedule.

“If a patient comes in and the doctor isn’t around I can see them and help them,
answer any questions. Then after I would report to the doctor to get his consult
and help provide an answer for the patient. We work together as a team, but if
they are really busy, we can step in and help out making way for more people to
come in.” (MD Anderson Cancer Center)

To conclude, Physician Assistants, are valuable to the current healthcare system because

they can provide versatile care and go into any unit to stay and contribute their services. Also, to

this, they increase patient care access by filling in the gaps in an area of the hospital and are more

cost effective for the hospital making sure that the medical team is never short-handed. They are

a valuable team player and help the physician take more onto their schedule by collaborating and

working for the better of the patient.

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Works Cited

Berner, Lisa. Email Interview. 25 Mar. 2019.

Fowler, Elizabeth M. "Careers." ​Breaking News, World News & Multimedia - The New York

Times,​ 20 July 1977,

www.nytimes.com/1977/07/20/archives/careers-growing-field-of-physicians-assistants.ht

ml.

HealthLeaders, Christopher. "4 Physician Assistant Trends to Watch in 2019." ​HealthLeaders

Media​, 2 Jan. 2019,

www.healthleadersmedia.com/clinical-care/4-physician-assistant-trends-watch-2019.

Accessed 24 Mar. 2019.

"How to Become a Physician Assistant." ​GetEducated | Review, Rate, Rank & Compare Online

Colleges & Degrees | GetEducated,​

www.geteducated.com/careers/how-to-become-a-physician-assistant.

Owens, Brian. "Roles of nurse practitioners and physician assistants in medicine still under

debate." ​CMAJ: Canadian Medical Association Journal​, 19 Feb. 2019, p. E203+.

Academic OneFile​,

http://link.galegroup.com.grcc.idm.oclc.org/apps/doc/A574056084/AONE?u=lom_grand

rapid&sid=AONE&xid=1ea64f40. Accessed 19 Mar. 2019.

Werner, Kirsten. Phone Interview. 21 Mar. 2019.

MD Anderson Cancer Center. "What is a Physician Assistant?" ​YouTube​, 18 June 2013,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZUjuqWcWaE.