How to Become a Physician Assistant
Job Duties
Physicians have a lot of work to handle, and sometimes they need to delegate their tasks to other people in order to be able to see the patients who have been admitted for the direst situations. The people who get the work from physicians are called physician assistants. They do just about everything that physicians do, except they don’t handle the most complicated cases. They take patient information, order x-rays and other tests, treat minor injuries, and prescribe certain medications. They are considered to be in the middle of an RN (Registered Nurse) and a physician.
Process
To become a physician assistant, you must go through a lot of schooling, but not as much as it takes to be a physician.
Bachelor’s Degree
You’ll need to go to a university and obtain a bachelor’s degree in physician assistance, or if your school does not offer this program, then another medical-related is accepted.
Physician Assistant Program
After you receive this bachelor’s degree, then it is time to go through a physician assistant program, which will give you a master’s degree in the subject. The requirement for almost all programs is having at least 8 credit hours of anatomy and physiology.
The program is two years long, and you will learn about subjects in the first year such as: biochemistry, pathology, pharmacology, disease prevention, among others. The last year is dedicated to clinicals, which gives you real-world experience depending on which specialty you choose to study.
Apply for Jobs
Once you graduate with your master’s degree, then you will be able to apply for jobs. If you have experience within the medical field, then your chances are fairly high for being hired.
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