If you plan to work for a branch of the federal government, it is your responsibility to make sure that you are appropriately credentialed by your federal employer before you begin work. Two distinct statutory models have emerged. One type of law, referred to as the general delegatory statute, stipulates in the state's medical practice act the physician's right to delegate tasks to an appropriately trained assistant. The other type, the regulatory authority statute, authorizes a specific organizational entity, such as a board of medical examiners, to establish rules and regulations with respect to a PA's educational and employment qualifications, and in some cases to approve the employment of a PA by a specific physician based upon a job description submitted by the employing physician. Legislation affecting the employment of PAs in the State of Michigan is of the former, general delegatory type.
Some new graduates find the language in state law or the process itself confusing.