Physicians also are required to do an internship, and the majority also complete a residency in a specialty. PAs do not have to undertake an internship or residency. A doctor has complete responsibility for the care of the patient. PAs share that responsibility with the doctors. Doctors are independent practitioners.
PAs practice medicine with the supervision of a physician.
Nurses study nursing and not medicine. A PA is taught to diagnose and treat illnesses. In the mid-1960s, physicians and educators recognized there was a shortage and an uneven distribution of primary care physicians. To expand the delivery of quality medical care. Dr. Eugene Stead of the Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina put together the first class of PAs in 1965.