Why be a Physician Assistant?

The physician assistant is a health care professional who is academically and clinically prepared to provide health and medical services with and under the supervision of a doctor of medicine. The functions of the physician assistant include performing diagnostic, therapeutic, preventive and health maintenance services in any setting in which the physician renders care, in order to allow more effective and focused application of the physician's particular knowledge and skills.

What services are performed by a physician assistant?

Services performed by physician assistants include, but are not limited, to the following:

Evaluation: Initially approaching a patient of any age group in any setting to elicit a detailed and accurate history, perform an appropriate physical examination, delineate problems, and record and present the data.
Monitoring: Assisting the physician in conducting rounds in acute and long-term inpatient care settings, developing and implementing patient management plans, recording progress notes and assisting in the provision of continuity of care in office-based and other ambulatory care settings.
Diagnostics: Performing and/or interpreting, at least to the point of recognizing deviations from the norm, common laboratory, radiologic, cardiographic and other routine diagnostic procedures used to identify pathophysiologic processes.
Therapeutics: Performing routine procedures such as injections, immunizations, suturing and wound care, managing simple conditions produced by infection or trauma, participating in the management of more complex illness and injury, and taking initiative in performing evaluation and therapeutic procedures in response to life-threatening situations.
Counseling: Instructing and counseling patients regarding compliance with prescribed therapeutic regimens, normal growth development, family planning, situation adjustment reactions and health maintenance.
Referral: Facilitating the referral of patients to the community's health and social service agencies when appropriate.

• AAPA: American Academy of Physician Assistants
• LAPA: Louisiana Academy of Physician Assistants
• NCCPA: National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants
• ARCPA: Accreditation Review Commission for Physician Assistant Programs
• Physician Assistant Educators Association
• Physician Assistant History Society