PAs practice as part of a team with their supervising physicians.
PAs are trained to provide approximately 80 percent of the services usually designated to a doctor in a primary care or general medical service setting. Currently forty states, the District of Columbia, and Guam authorize PAs to write and sign prescriptions without the physician's cosignature. PA programs look for students who want to study, work hard, and be of service to other people. A good PA must have an interest in and an understanding of how the human body functions. As in all fields, common sense, too, is helpful.