Qualified to practise under a licensed physician’s supervision, a Physician Assistant is a medically trained professional who can provide direct care to patients. The profession came into existence to fill the critical need for more doctors and greater access to quality healthcare, particularly in rural areas. Physician Assistants often help fully-fledged physicians in performing complex procedures and are valued members of contemporary team-based healthcare services.

Physician Assistants typically work in a doctor’s office, in a hospital, or at outpatient care centres. You are likely to be part of a multidisciplinary team, working alongside specialists, physicians, surgeons, etc. At the hospital, you would spend considerable time making rounds and dealing directly with patients. You may also make home visits as required. You may sometimes conduct small procedures in the operating theatre.

Program de lucru

Physician Assistants typically work full time, about 40 hours a week. When they are on call, they may be summoned to their workplace for emergencies, in which case, they may need to work nights, weekends or holidays and sometimes in shifts.

Part-time work and job shares are sometimes available.

Despre angajatori

Physician Assistants may choose the type of practice in which they wish to work. They may opt to be employed by healthcare facilities or work with them on an independent contractor basis. They may also choose temporary locum tenens positions offered by practices, hospitals, or healthcare organisations with an unfilled clinical need. Emergency departments in hospitals now look to hire more and more Physician Assistants.

Physician Assistants are generally employed by:

• Public Sector Health Services

• Private Hospitals

• Primary Care Offices

• General Care Offices

• Urgent Care Clinics

• General Physicians’ Offices

• Health Centres

• Psychiatry Services

Sindicalizare

Physician Assistants may choose the type of practice in which they wish to work. They may opt to be employed by healthcare facilities or work with them on an independent contractor basis. They may also choose temporary locum tenens positions offered by practices, hospitals, or healthcare organisations with an unfilled clinical need. Emergency departments in hospitals now look to hire more and more Physician Assistants.

Physician Assistants are generally employed by:

• Public Sector Health Services

• Private Hospitals

• Primary Care Offices

• General Care Offices

• Urgent Care Clinics

• General Physicians’ Offices

• Health Centres

• Psychiatry Services

Provocari intalnite

• Not a protected job title in some locations

• Lack of public awareness about the role

• Patient caseloads

• Protecting the privacy rights of patients while also circumventing legal trouble

• Delivering patient-centred care and also focusing on communication best practices

• Educating patients with chronic conditions on why and how to implement lifestyle and dietary adjustments

• Exposure to infectious bodily fluids of patients; chemical contamination; accidental injuries due to inadequate equipment training

• Physically strenuous as it may require long periods of standing and making rounds to visit patients

• Emotionally stressful as it may be challenging sometimes to deal with patients and their family members

Cele mai importante

De preferat si urmatoarele

To show their commitment to the long qualifying period, every applicant to a medical program needs work experience in their local hospital, doctor’s surgery, nursing home, or mental health trust. It will help them understand some of the physical and emotional demands of a career in medicine and make their application competitive.

Some teaching hospitals also offer work experience across various departments, specifically for secondary school students interested in a medical degree and a career as a Physician Assistant. It can be a helpful way to gain insight into patient care in a clinical setting.

Typically, in addition to a bachelor’s degree, experience gathered by working in healthcare roles, such as a hospital assistant, emergency medical technician (EMT), paramedic, nursing assistant or registered nurse, contributes towards the likelihood of gaining admission into your chosen academic program. If acquiring formal experience is not possible, volunteer at your local hospitals or clinics, or assist special-needs or at-risk groups, such as the homeless or the orphaned.

Read about the profession and interview or job shadow experts working as Physician Assistants to prove your commitment to course providers and prospective employers.

Once you join a medical program, you will receive training along with your studies. This training covers several components of a bachelor’s or master’s medical degree program, particularly general adult medicine and general practice. Clinical training takes place in varied settings, providing you with experience in general hospital medicine, surgery, paediatrics, mental health and more. Advanced training and experience help you achieve career progression and head to specialisation, management, research or academia.

An aspiring Physician Assistant must hold a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in a life science or healthcare or an allied health degree, such as in physiotherapy, paramedic science, occupational therapy, and diagnostic/therapeutic radiography. In addition, you must possess the necessary experience in health services to qualify for relevant and accredited academic programs that typically lasts two to three years. You may also need to pass specific tests to gain admission.

Completing the program will yield a master’s degree in Physician Assistant studies, health science or medical science, or a postgraduate diploma, depending on location.

You may qualify for the program if you have experience working as an emergency medical technician (EMT), a registered nurse or a paramedic. Physician Assistant programs offer classroom and laboratory instruction in medicine-related fields, including human anatomy, physiology, pathology, clinical medicine, physical diagnosis, pharmacology, and medical ethics.

Also incorporated into the program is supervised clinical training or rotations amounting to more than 2000 hours in community and acute care settings and in multiple branches of medicine, such as primary care, internal medicine, family medicine, emergency medicine, geriatrics, paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology, general surgery, psychiatry, gastroenterology, cardiology, ambulatory medicine and others.

You could fulfil your academic requirements through accredited online Physician Assistant programs which ensure that you complete your clinical hours in person. If you serve in clinical rotations under a physician who may be in search of a Physician Assistant, you may secure permanent employment.

PA residencies are optional and provide clinical training similar to the rotations embedded in the PA program.

You may decide to switch careers and enter a PA program even with an unrelated bachelor’s degree. In this case, you would need to complete the prerequisite courses; without acquiring a new degree.

If you begin with a lower degree such as an associate degree in nursing, you may work your way to study further while acquiring work experience alongside to ease up paying the bills.

Certificari & Diplome

Certification demonstrates a Physician Assistant’s competence in a skill set, typically through work experience, training, and passing an examination. When acquired from an objective and reputed organisation, it can help you stand out in a competitive job market, carry a significant salary premium of up to 18 per cent, increase your chances of advancement, and allow you to become an independent consultant.Successful certification programs protect public welfare by incorporating a Code of Ethics.

Certification will allow you the use of certain credentials. Furthermore, you must undertake continuing medical education and clear a recertification exam periodically to stay certified.

Accredited academic programs to become a Physician Assistant may require you to clear criminal checks, health checks and language requirements.

Individual government entities conduct the licensing process. It typically requires the passage of an examination in addition to the fulfilment of eligibility requirements, such as a minimum level of education, work experience, training, or the completion of an internship, residency, or apprenticeship.

Licensure is typically mandatory for Physician Assistants to practise. Check for specific requirements in your area. To be licensed, you must have received the requisite certification from accredited bodies by passing the relevant exams, which cover medical content and professional best practices. You should also have completed the specified coursework and the number of hours of clinical experience required.

In certain locations, once you are qualified through an academic program and accompanying apprenticeship, you acquire membership of relevant professional bodies and join a voluntary register. Membership requires you to pass the relevant certifying examination in addition to possessing your academic qualifications.

Performance, experience, and the acquisition of professional qualifications drive career progression. Physician Assistants have several pathways open to them that demand more training, have higher pay and include greater responsibilities.

Equipped with a bachelor’s degree, preferably in a science field, a logical and sequential step for a PA is to qualify to become a Physician themselves. Or you may develop expertise in a niche, such as cardiology or urology. Greater experience will allow movement into diverse jobs. As you gain experience in the medical profession, you could launch into other related careers.

Perspective de viitor

Candidates with skills, experience and education paired with broad-based knowledge that allows you to transition smoothly from one specialty to another have the best job prospects.

Continuing professional development (CPD) is essential in the healthcare sector for public wellbeing and career progression. It embraces several new learning objectives, educational methodologies, and novel technological developments. Depending on your location, you may need to complete a requisite number of hours of CPD periodically to retain or renew your credentials. Some activities that count towards CPD include attending seminars, workshops and courses, undertaking a master’s program, presenting at conferences, reading journals and scientific papers, and being active in committees.

Typically, a qualified PA may work with the support of a dedicated supervisor and the help of a mentor who helps you enhance your clinical skills and encourages you towards additional education in a specialty. You may specialise in areas such as emergency medicine, paediatrics, psychiatry or others. However, to enter a program of further education, you must have graduated from an accredited program and possess relevant certification.

An important avenue of CPD is to engage in clinical research trials which seek to develop new treatments. You will have the opportunity to acquire skills crucial to your career progression.

Keep in mind that, similar to other healthcare careers, you must undertake continuing education (CE) and take recertification exams periodically to keep up your certification.

Reflective learning, interaction with peer groups, comprehensive inclusion and professional publications also educate, influence, support, and foster lifelong enlightenment in all career-grade Physician Assistants.

Different Models of Medical Practice

A Physician Assistant can opt for a specific practice model from among the prevalent ones.

Solo Practice

Suburban or rural areas with significant medical needs and less competition suit solo practice. Remember that while you can grow and develop your unique style of medical care, it involves considerable effort, time and financial risk.

Most importantly, keep in mind that a Physician Assistant is not eligible for independent, solo practice but must work under a physician’s supervision, which may be on-site or off-site.

Group Practice

The group practice may comprise single-speciality or multi-speciality providers. Physicians in this model enjoy financial security and have administrative staff so the physician can focus more time and energy on patient care. However, autonomy and decision-making ability decrease, increasing the risk of conflict around significant practice issues. Larger practices also tend to become more bureaucratic and policy-driven.

Some locations aim for optimal team practice wherein PAs, physicians, and other healthcare professionals collaborate to provide optimal care without having to deal with tedious administrative limitations.

Employed Physician Practice

The physician can focus on practising medicine because the employer takes over the financial and administrative responsibilities of running the practice. However, your work schedule and activities will be controlled by those who develop the policies and procedures.

Other Types of Medical Practice

Some physicians work as independent contractors in a solo or group practice; they may share financial responsibility and flexibility in clinical practice but may not be free to make all decisions.

Locum tenens (literally “place holder”) is an alternative to more permanent employment. Locum tenens positions are temporary (up to a year) offered by practices, hospitals, or healthcare organisations with an unfilled clinical need. The compensation rate is generally higher than what the permanent position would suggest. Locum tenens allows physicians to gauge a specific type of practice or location without committing to long-term employment.

If you opt for this route as a Physician Assistant, you can choose your schedule, work in new clinical settings, earn well, travel, and all while providing access to healthcare among communities that are otherwise under-served.

Physician Assistants, through their academic qualifications, training, and skills, are meant to inspire confidence, trust and satisfaction in their patients the way doctors do. Despite having a shorter qualification period than doctors, PAs reinforce healthcare services. Greater regulation and the authority to expand their scope of practice while maintaining its reliability and efficacy will go a long way in solidifying the role of PAs in contemporary healthcare.

Sfat?

If you work in the emergency department, remember that it can be a traumatic experience for patients, especially if they have no clue what is going on. Keeping patients in the loop by explaining what tests are being run and what their results are may help them unwind a bit.