Today some 28,000 PAs practice in the U.S., almost 18,000 of who are members of the American Academy of Physician Assistants, the national organization representing PAs. The Physician Assistant provides diagnostic and therapeutic health care so that physicians can spend more time on complex patient problems. Working under physician supervision, PAs take patient histories, perform physical examinations, and order laboratory tests. Once medical problems are diagnosed, PAs develop treatment plans and explain them to patients. They recommend medications and drug therapies and, in nearly all states, have the authority to write prescriptions.
PAs provide a wide range of primary care, as well as care in specialty areas.
Practice Settings Physician Assistants work in a variety of settings, including private practice, hospitals, health maintenance organizations, nursing homes, student health services, and urban and rural clinics. The U.S. Government, which has helped fund PA educational programs since 1971, employs PAs in the military, Veterans Administration, Bureau of Prisons, Public Health Service, and other agencies. Education Physician Assistants are taught in educational programs located primarily in university schools of medicine and allied health. A PA program has been developed in South Dakota at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion. There are 120 accredited PA programs nationwide, most of which require 24 months to complete, although some are as short as 14 months or as long as 48 months.