Physician Assistant Research Paper

What is a Physician Assistant? As a relatively new field of practice, this answer is often asked. Physician Assistants are also known as PAs. They practice medicine on a team all under the supervision of a doctor. The name is largely a misnomer as physician assistants are much more than mere “assistants”. They are educated to diagnose injuries and illnesses, provide treatment and examine patients. Typical responsibilities of a physician assistant include: reviewing patients’ medical histories, conducting physician exams, order and interpret diagnostic tests, give treatment, evaluate and counsel patients, and prescribe medicines (Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor).

The Physician Assistant (PA) is an essential component of a medical staff. Their duties include, Examining and treating patients, ordering and interpreting diagnostics, educating patients, and promoting overall health and wellness (“Physicians Assistants”. (2015, December 17). Retrieved May 26, 2016, from http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/physician-assistants.htm). Physician Assistants work in many different areas of medicine under the direct supervision of a primary care physician. However, in some cases, the physician assistant can perform autonomously. Being a physician assistant is typically full-time work and at times can be physically and emotionally demanding. A prospective PA must be able to work long hours on their feet, have good

A comparison chart that was posted on The Physician Assistant Life website, shows the time is the classroom, clinical hours, after high school education, residency, and degree after completion, recertification, and salary along with a few others listed. The chart has the information for a nurse, nurse practitioner, physician assistant, and physician. The time in classroom for nurse practitioner and physician assistant range from 500 to 1,000 hours whereas a physician is two years. A residency for a nurse practitioner and physician assistant is they either don’t have one or is optional and it is only one to two years long. Whereas a physician has a three to eight year residency. Needless to say it takes many more years to become a physician. The difference in material that is learned between a nurse practitioner and a physician is the amount of time spent on the material. The nurse practitioner just briefly covers the material while a physician has to do in depth. So a physician knows more about a certain disease or illness better than a nurse

For my Capstone Project, I chose the career as physician assistant. I worked hard throughout the year to make sure I make a good grade on the Capstone Project. I job shadowed at D.D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center in the pain management unit. I spent most of the time observing my mentor while she performed check-ups on her patients. Also, I saw my mentor give injections to patients to help with pain.

It seems like most the time when entering our primary care physician’s office, it is not the doctor we get to see. Due to the physician shortages, most of the time, we mainly see the physician assistant. Physician assistants have all the qualifications for diagnosing illnesses and developing treatment plans. According to Smith-Barrow, Physicians Assistants can do many of the same things that a general practice physician can. Some of those skills include prescribe medicine, examine patients, and order tests (2014). They, by law, must work under the guidance of a general practice physician. Physician assistants can practice general medicine, or go into a specialized field (E.R., cardiology, surgery, pediatrics,

Decision makers will need to determine how to best utilize nurses, technicians, and other professionals to close the gap in providing services to patients. Nurses require less time to train, are less expensive to train, cost less to employ, and can increase the efficiency and productivity of physicians who provide care to patients. The increase in the use of health care services as well as the increase in the number of venues where health care is provided has also increased the job opportunities for nurses and other members of the healthcare workforce. The demand for primary care services has stimulated the training of nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and certified nurse

The physician assistant occupation truly began in 1965 when a considerable shortage of physicians brought forth a breakthrough. At this time there were also many corpsmen returning from the Vietnam War with adequate skills to access surgical conditions but without the formal education. A man by the name of Dr. Eugene Stead then created a program at Duke University to give these people formal training and education. By the time they finished their two-year fast-tracked program these individuals would be equipped to provide medical care to underserved populations and rural communities under the direction of a physician.

Discuss: This position entails administrative duties such as scheduling patient’s appointments, compile and record medical records, answer the telephone and direct staff. This person may also be cross trained in clinical duties such as drawing blood, assisting during the exam, and acting as a liaison between the patient and the physician. In this capacity, the MA may give and or explain instructions regarding medication or just help the patient feel at ease while in the office.

HIPAA is short for health insurance portability and accountability act of 1996. They have many requirement that’s a medical assistant could have and use to become a better assistant. They have many requirements that the policy requires covered encounters by taking reasonable steps: covered entry to develop and implement policies for its own organization. Reflecting the business practices and work force.

In 1968, American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) formerly known as the American Association of Physician Assistants was established in North Carolina by the first graduate students of Duke University Physician Assistant program. Since then PA profession has grown to tremendous heights. The mission statement of the AAPA is, “To ensure the professional growth, personal excellence, and recognition of the physician assistants, and to support their efforts to enable then to improve the quality, accessibility, and cost-effectiveness of patient-centered health care.” The physician assistant profession has shown remarkable growth since its first PAs started practice in 1967.

It is the most influential source of insight for PA’s practicing in MI. Its purpose is to “encourage its members to abide by the AAPA code of ethical conduct”, “serve as a public information center with respect to its members, health professions, governments agencies, and the general public”, and “ represent its members in matters of legislation in order to maintain and further develop the practice of the profession” 2. Since the mid 1970s, MAPA has been an important advocator for its members and has not only worked on the improvement of working environments for physician assistants but is also involved in politicizing for enhancements in the scope of practice as well as raising a voice on actions that may impose a threat on the Physician Assistant occupation. At the turn of the century, the ‘Barriers to PA Practice’ list was created by MAPA in order to “overturn all of the antiquated laws disallowing PAs to practice in aspects of care or allowing negative interpretation by administrators of health plans and State agencies” 3. Since this list was created, many new public acts have been passed allowing physician assistants in Michigan to gain more independence. Some important advancements that occurred during this time included MAPA’s involvement in overturning office supervision guidelines insurances such as Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan imposed on physician assistants as well as overturning the insurances refusal to pay surgical PAs, Public Act 281 which allowed referrals from physician assistant to a physical therapist, and Public Acts 124-126 which approved Physician Assistants to be added to a “list of professionals able to form professional corporations (PC) and professional limited liability corporations (PLLC) and clarifies that physicians and

A medical assistant needs to have a variety of character traits. Traits such as patience, and a great sense of humor. Communication skills are also a must to be able to listen and respond to everyone. Also, a medical assistant needs to be flexible. They are normally always busy, and your days are not always 9-5 work days. Some require late nights, holiday hours, and weekends. Medical assistants deal with the public, therefore, they must be neat and well groomed and have a courteous, pleasant demeanor. Medical assistants must also be able to put patients at ease and explain physicians’ instructions. They must realize the patient may have just received bad news. Basically, you must have a real desire to help people.

very thing, but they can assist in surgeries if they want. The average schooling for PA’s

Medical Office Assistant has many responsibilities. Medical Office Assistant is the heartbeat of a medical office or hospital. Being a Medical Office Assistant involves assisting the administrative by handling clerical and clinical duties. Some duties are filing medical records and maintaining the front office such as keeping everything organized and answering the phone. Handling final payments, medical records, scheduling, final management are other duties of a Medical Office Assistant. More importantly, the Medical Office Assistant first impression can make a person’s experience go well. When a person enters a doctor’s office or hospital the first person they see is the Medical Office Assistant. They can work in many different places such

Medical assistants start out their day getting all the exam rooms ready if they work at a doctors office. If they work at a hospital they start with cleaning the rooms that have not been cleaned yet. Also they get all paperwork ready for that day, and get medical records ready. Throughout the day, depending on where they work, they can draw blood, give shots and take your vitals. Medical assistants also set up all appointments and answers calls to any questions there may be. When in the emergency room or hospital will most likely see the MA doing vitals , taking too the exam room or asking questions. In a