Career goals and the steps to achieve these goals

1. CAREER
INTEREST:
PHYSICIAN
ASSISTANT
Kathryn Dougherty
27 August, 2016
Health 4190; Mrs. Meyer
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2. History of Physician Assistant Career
o Shortage of primary care physicians triggered career in 1960’s
o First program at Duke with Navy medics (1967)
o Modeled after fast-track plan used inWorldWar II
o Initiated afterVietnamWar, surplus of medics with no M.D/D.O
o Lots of experience which could be useful
o National accreditation was established in 1970’s
o Standardized exam
o Necessity for continuation of medical education requirements
o Career has grown exponentially since that point and schooling has become
increasing competitive
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3. • Bachelors and Masters currently offered along with 5 year accelerated BA-PA
• Masters is the minimum education requirement for becoming a PA
• Masters programs last between 24 and 27 months
• Many students do go directly from their undergraduate school into graduate school by acquiring hours over
their summers and during the school year
• General courses covered include-
• Anatomy, Physiology, Pathology, Clinical Medicine, Medical Laws and Ethics, Pharmacology
• 2,000 clinical hours be completed before entering the field
• Acquired by 10 Rotations (2 are elective)
• Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE).
• 5 hours, 300 MC questions
• Have 6 chances over 6 years to pass the test, if not must repeat schooling
• Recertification occurs through the PANRE exam
• Shorter, Primary care focus
• Must be taken in last 2 years of every 10 year cycle
Education Requirements
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4. CLINICAL ROTATIONS
• Internal Medicine: (8 weeks)
• Learn to gather medical data, assess patients
and create plans for patients
• Emergency Medicine (4 weeks)
• Hospital ER, high intensity trauma, surgical
intervention, triage
• Surgery (4 weeks)
• Pre and post operative rounds, teaching
conferences
• Pediatrics (6Weeks)
• Private physician practices, childhood
development, well and sick children
• OBGYN (6 weeks)
• Inpatient/outpatient, Labor delivery, family
planning, gynecology, prenatal/ postpartum
care
• Family Medicine (8 weeks)
• Private practice, acute and chronic care
• Psychiatry (4 weeks)
• Correctional facility, mix of care, Continue
care of psychiatric patients
• Infectious Disease (5 weeks)
• Patient management
• Clinical selective rotations
• Focus on medial or surgical subspecialty
• adolescent medicine, allergy/immunology,
bariatric surgery, dermatology, hematology,
internal medicine, nephrology, orthopedics,
rheumatology, surgery, trauma care, and
urology.
• Clinical elective rotations
• Select from 2 dozen electives, even more
freedom
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5. Pre-Requisites for PA school
• RequiredCourses:
• Vary by school see following slide for general recommendations for several top schools
• Hands on PatientContact Hours
• Some schools have set amount others recommend an amount while others don’t specify
• Goal to be a top candidate-500 to 1,000 hours
• This includes EMT, Paramedic, Nursing, Medical Scribes, PT aide/assistant
• Shadowing Hours
• Not necessary but helps to show proven interest in the PA career path
• GRE
• Most schools don’t require it but it can be beneficial
• Personal Statement and CASPA
• Why do you want to be a PA?What would make you a good one?
• 3 Letters of Recommendation
• Want to ”showcase strengths” (Pasquini)
• At least one from Medical professional
https://portal.caspaonline.org/applicants2014/images/logo.gif

6. Required Courses
U-upper level
L-lower level
X- General Rec
http://www.thepalife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/PA-School-Prerquisites-Comparison-Table.jpg

7. COST OF SCHOOL
However, many scholarships and programs contingent on
pledging service prior to school make is much more
affordable
http://www.thepalife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/HOW-MUCH-DOES-IT-COST-TO-GO-TO-PA-SCHOOL-PHYSICIAN-
ASSISTANT-LIFE.jpg

8. GENERAL JOB DESCRIPTION
• ”Practice medicine under physicians
and surgeons”
• General tasks include
• Take medical histories
• Diagnose and treat patients
• Order and interpret lab tests
• Suture, splint and cast
• While they work under physician,
many times (especially in rural areas)
they are the primary provider who can
call upon physicians when needed
• NY, CA,TX, PA, FL have the highest
number of PAs
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9. Specialty Interests
• Cardiology
• Assist in surgery
• Harvest vein from leg to be
used in the heart
• Diagnose and treat patients
• Sports Medicine
• Assist doctor in surgeries
• Diagnose and assess patients
• Suture, splint, cast
• Shadowed Orthopedic PA specializing
in knee and shoulder cartilage
replacement this summer
• Found I would rather focus on
sports medicine and treating
sprains and breaks in athletes
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ng_srz http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/sebin/p/e/doctor-sports-injury.jpg

10. Salary and hours
• Generally work 40-50 hours a week unless working in ER or other
specialty which may require them to be on call
• Average Salary out of school
• Average Salary: $97,280 (comparable with NP)
• 75th percentile: $114,760
• 25th percentile: $82,090
• Salary has been steadily rising (put in chart)
• Highest paying focus
• Highest Paying states: NV, RI, NH, ND,CT
• Santa Fe, NM has highest average wage: 163,070
• http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Physician_Assistant_(PA)/Salary

11. EXPECTED JOB GROWTH
• Currently 94,400 jobs in the US
• Expected growth of 30% between 2014 and
2024 due to high demand for health care
services
• This is much higher than other professions
http://www.healthcare-schools-online.com/Images/charts/pa-ProjectedGrowth.jpg

12. • Problem Solving
• CriticalThinking
• Interpersonal skills/ Communication
• ClinicalCompetence
• Operational Management-clerical tasks
and health administration
• Adaptability and Flexibility
• Service Oriented-independent and team
work to help others
NECESSARY ATTRIBUTES
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13. CONFIRMATION WITH O*NET
• My Code: SIR
• Social was the strongest 29 points
• Investigative was high with 18 points
• Realistic was next with 9 points, rest had
none
• Physician Assistant Code: SIR
• Code was directly in line with my code
• Interesting point: Doctors did not have
the same code but mostTherapies did
• Therapy was another consideration of
mine but after shadowing both careers
decided PA was a better fit for me
• According to O*Net a key factor in PA
career is patient interaction which is why
the high social score correlates

14. "29-1071.00 - PhysicianAssistants." 29-1071.00 - Physician Assistants. N.p., n.d.Web. 27 Aug. 2016.
"Clinical Rotations: Master of PhysicianAssistantStudies – UT Southwestern, Dallas,Texas."UT Southwestern MedicalCenter. N.p., n.d.Web. 27
Aug. 2016.
Jobs, U.S. News Best. "Physician Assistant Ranks Among BestJobs of 2016." PhysicianAssistant. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Aug. 2016.
"MaintainingCertification." How andWhen to MaintainYour PhysicianAssistantCertification. N.p., n.d.Web. 27 Aug. 2016.
Pasqini,Stephen, PA-C. "How to Design the Perfect Pre-PASchoolCurriculum: MakingSense of PA School Prerequisites."The Physician Assistant Life.
N.p., n.d.Web. 27 Aug. 2016.
Pasquini,Stephen, PA-C. "2015 Physician Assistant Program |Tuition and Cost ComparisonTable |The PhysicianAssistant Life."The Physician
Assistant Life. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Aug. 2016.
Pasquini,Stephen, PA-C. "PhysicianAssistantSalaryComparisonTable | 2015 Pay by State |The PhysicianAssistant Life."The PhysicianAssistant
Life. N.p., n.d.Web. 27 Aug. 2016.
"PhysicianAssistant (PA) Salary (UnitedStates)UnitedStates HomeChangeCountry Don't SeeWhatYou Are Looking For?GetA Free Custom Salary
Report »." PhysicianAssistant (PA)Salary. Pay Scale (HumanCapital), n.d.Web. 27 Aug. 2016.
"PhysicianAssistant Programs & Careers | How to Become a Physician Assistant." How to Become. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Aug. 2016.
"Understanding the NCCPA Blueprint for PANCE/PANRE - NEJM Knowledge." NEJM Knowledge. N.p., 2015.Web. 27 Aug. 2016.
Works Cited

15. http://www.thepalife.com/2015-physician-assistant-program-tuition-and-cost-comparison-table/
http://www.thepalife.com/prerequisites/
http://www.utsouthwestern.edu/education/school-of-health-professions/programs/masters-
programs/physician-assistant-studies/curriculum/clinical-rotations.html
http://knowledgeplus.nejm.org/understanding-the-nccpa-blueprint-for-pance-panre/
https://www.nccpa.net/certificationprocess
http://www.learnhowtobecome.org/physician-assistant/
http://www.utsouthwestern.edu/education/school-of-health-professions/programs/masters-
programs/physician-assistant-studies/curriculum/clinical-rotations.html
http://www.thepalife.com/salary-2015/
http://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Physician_Assistant_(PA)/Salary
http://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/physician-assistant
http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-1071.00