PAs advise patients on preventive health care as well as the treatment and management of health problems. One distinctive feature of the PA profession is that PAs are dependent practitioners. PAs perform medical tasks and procedures under the supervision but not necessarily in the presence of their supervising physician. The scope of practice for PAs is determined by state laws and regulations as well as their supervising physicians. Employment Settings Physician assistants are currently employed in a wide variety of settings such as hospitals, health centers, industrial clinics, health maintenance organizations, emergency rooms, college health services, doctor's offices, nursing homes, and specialty clinics.
PAs help provide hospital care for surgical patients and assist in surgery.
They provide care both in teaching institutions and in hospitals where there are no house officers. Employment opportunities and the outlook for the physician assistant appear favorable. The Physician Assistant Program at Northeastern University was established in 1971. Since its founding, the Physician Assistant Program has been maximally accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs and its predecessor. Graduates of the Northeastern University Physician Assistant Program have consistently passed the yearly National Certification Examination for Physician Assistants and scored very well.