physician assistant
Donna Kentley had wanted to be a nurse since she was a girl. In college, her plans changed when she met a physician assistant while working at a teaching hospital in Boston. She became intrigued with the profession and later changed her major from nursing to biology, then started trying to figure out whether PA studies or medical school would be the better fit for her. As she weighed the pros and cons of each, she worried that the work demands she’d face as a doctor might swallow up her personal and family life. “I liked the idea of having...
Jon Lowe’s health care career started out in the Army, when he stitched up wounded soldiers as a paramedic. When he got out of the service, he spent several years working as a licensed practical nurse, then got his physician assistant degree. He spent much of the past 25 years in urgent care centers and emergency rooms, before transitioning to family practice several years ago. Today, he’s part of a primary care team that focuses mostly on geriatric and internal medicine at the Redmond campus of Group Health Cooperative. The Seattle nonprofit, a medical care and insurance coverage provider, has won...
Physician assistants are poised for much faster-than-average job growth over the next several years. How fast? The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 30 percent job growth for PAs from 2010 to 2020—more than twice the average for all occupations. Why? With more doctors going into specialty care, the need for primary care providers will continue to grow, and the government predicts that physician assistants will take center stage in filling that gap. But get this: Many PAs—just like the MDs who supervise them—also are opting to specialize instead of pursuing primary care. Primary care vs. specialty care In 2000,...
If you’re doing your homework about getting a physician assistant (PA) degree, you may be wondering why there are so many ways to go about it, from certificates and associate degrees to bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Regardless of the degree, all PAs have to pass a national certification exam administered by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants. The importance of accreditation And in order to sit for that exam, your degree has to come from an accredited program. There are 159 programs that have earned that stamp of approval from the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the...
Editor’s note: This is the first of a series of posts to provide some deeper insights into various high-demand and growing health career fields. The health care sector is on track to keep growing at a steady clip, even as most other industries struggle to shake off the economic downturn, experts say. Physician assistants are expected to see significant job growth over the next several years, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. It’s a relatively small field now—representing about 66,000 of roughly 14.3 million health care jobs in the United States. Between 2008 and 2018, the BLS projects...
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The All Allied Health Schools blog covers what you need to know about preparing for a career in health care today, whether you’re just starting to think about your new career or you’re ready to enroll in school.
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