Trained in the medical (disease-centered) model, Physician Assistants (PAs) exercise significant autonomy in diagnosing and treating patients. Their scope of practice is guided by local regulations and state law. With prior health care experience, PAs complete their training efficiently and are ready to enter the workforce immediately after obtaining national certification.
We have developed a list of resources that might be helpful when researching information about physician assistants, related programs and for practicing physician assistant health professionals.
Student organizations and clubs support PA students on their journey to becoming skilled, compassionate health care providers. By engaging in these organizations, PA students broaden their perspectives, develop critical skills and build networks that will support their careers and enhance their impact in the communities they serve.
Discover firsthand insights from Terri Elliott, a Reno, NV Physician Assistant who has been practicing since 1997. With a background in cardiac surgery and international experience teaching endoscopic vein harvesting, Elliot shares her passion for surgery and the flexibility of the PA role.
"You are not locked into a specialty as a PA, you're only locked in by your own reservations of wanting to put in the effort to become an expert in a new specialty,” Elliot said. “A surgeon can never just go from one specialty to another, but I can just make the change easily."
Learn how PAs can transition between specialties and get a glimpse into the daily life and experiences of a PA through our Q&A with Elliot.
"I think it’s geared towards a person who wants to give back to their community, from a medical perspective. Much like a doctor or nurse, it takes a whole team and you’re not excluded as a PA being a part of the team. Most people who have approached me with an interest as a PA have families and are already involved in health care at some level. For example, a scrub tech I know in his mid-thirties, has a wife, two children – he is the kind of student this program is for. He understands the field, he understands medicine and knows what’s involved. He already has the baseline skills but wants to advance his career."
"Often, the title Physician Assistant implies that you are an assistant. You are a lot more than an assistant. PA's provide medical care, just as an M.D. or N.P. within a particular scope of practice. You can even be providing that medical care from a clinic that's out in a small suburb of Nevada, and only have an M.D. available via phone – and you're the PA that's available. The title doesn't give you that credit. Patients that have been cared for by a PA, they love us. Our training is very broad and patient-focused, and we have excellent physical exam skills, which often leads to the choice of care that that patient needs."
"That's an easy one. I was 35, a single mom, had a pre-med focus in my schooling and I was a year out from graduating. I had never heard of a PA. I looked into nursing, physical therapy and med-school. I had a really good GPA. I could have gone anywhere. Every nurse I talked to said they wished they had gone to PA school or NP school – so I started looking into it. After researching it, that seemed a better choice for my family and me. I never had a desire to do the med-school route. There are different personalities, where you need to be the boss, the Dr., and that’s what you want in life. My comfort level was being a team player, having colleagues that I could always pass things by, passing off something I wasn’t comfortable with to the doctor. It’s a perfect fit for me."
"I work 80 hours a week."
"Not in my current job. In cardiac surgery I was on-call one day out of three. It was rewarding but exhausting. In that position, I took all the phone calls from all the nurses, in every hospital in the town."
"In clinic practice, absolutely nothing is different. However, their training is completely different. I think you need all different arms of a medical team to care for patients."
"I never see the supervising doctors. In cardiac surgery, I saw the surgeons every day, but they were never shadowing me. If I were worried about someone, I would ask them to come to check on the patient. And you can never operate without a surgeon. At my current job, I have four M.D. partners and one NP partner. We provide post-acute care to four rehab facilities in town. We cover about 400 patients a day. The doctors and I talk via text or phone call, and we just take care of patients. I cover a facility by myself, but my supervising physician is available to me. He comes once a week to do new admissions or to follow-up on patients that I’m concerned about. I am their partner, not their assistant."
"Never."
"It was an easy transition. In Madison, WI it’s saturated with providers, so even there, it was easy. I got a phone call from an orthopedic surgeon that heard I had good hands and asked me if I wanted a job."
"The pre-requirements to get into the program are important. When you take biochemistry, you should really be learning it, and not just be there to get a grade. When you get into PA school, you have to have a pretty solid foundation. They are going to throw a lot at you in a very short period of time. But it's a wonderful career. It's great to help people, in general. You help them psychologically and emotionally. It's more than providing an antibiotic to a patient. You're their home base. It's the kind of career that gives back to you at every moment."