A physician assistant (PA) is a health care professional who works with doctors and gives medical treatment. You can find physician’s assistants in virtually all primary care and specialty medical fields.
A PA’s duties vary, depending on the supervising doctor. State laws also play a role in the kind of care that you may get from a physician’s assistant.
Some rural areas of the United States use PAs to provide care for entire communities. As technology advances, the role may also become more vital to an aging population. For these reasons, demand for physician assistants is steadily increasing.
What Does a Physician Assistant Do?
A physician assistant’s role typically includes things like:
Offering advice to patients on preventive care and best health practices
Although PAs work alongside a supervising doctor, that doesn’t mean they work under the doctor’s direct supervision. Instead, they are in partnership with the doctor. They are independent clinicians within the scope of state law.
Most state laws require physicians to have agreements with PAs to define what they can do. The American Academy of PAs put in place a policy in 2017 that calls for an end to such agreements.
PAs work in medical settings including:
