It was only a little bit ago when I was questioning what it was I was going to be when I “grew up”. It is a difficult question to answer and impossible not to stress about, especially when you are married or have other responsibilities that weigh you down heavily. As you have seen from the title of this post it will be Touro University Nevada that is going to assist me in reaching my goal to become a Physician Assistant. If you are unfamiliar with such clinicians I have given a reference to Wikipedia’s take on PAs featured below.
A physician assistant (PA) is a healthcare professional licensed to practice medicine with supervision of a licensed physician. A physician assistant is concerned with preventing, maintaining, and treating human illness and injury by providing a broad range of health care services that are traditionally performed by a physician. Physician assistants conduct physical exams, diagnose and treat illnesses, order and interpret tests, counsel on preventive health care, assist in surgery, and write prescriptions.
Physician assistants exercise autonomy in medical decision making as determined by their supervising physician. Physician assistants are educated in the medical model designed to complement physician training. Physician assistants are not to be confused with medical assistants, who perform administrative and simple clinical tasks with limited college-level education in hospitals and clinics under the direct supervision of physicians, registered nurses, nurse practitioners, or physician assistants.
My father recently sent me an email about CNN Money’s Best Jobs in America, which included Physician Assistants. It may be difficult to see but if you click the picture below it is linked to the website and you will find that my chosen profession is ranked 2nd in the nation. I’m proud that I have made a good decision, one that will provide for my now growing family. I am not someone with a strong political background; but I am of the opinion that with the recent Healthcare Reform that the nation will look towards PAs and others such as Nurse Practioners. This will hopefully improve not only the status of PAs but improve the quality of care.
I am thrilled by what I have accomplished by making it into a PA program, but I am also humbled by the vast amount of knowledge I will need to become a proficient and sought after PA, one that will be ready for the dynamics of America’s Healthcare. It’ll be a difficult journey. Follow me as I learn and grow from this experience. I am thankful for those that paved the road before me. PAs have only been around for forty years, since the late sixties. They have made the profession what it is today and I hope to make a lasting impression on it as well.
In healthcare there are many abbreviations that are found on the white coats of those who are taking care of you. There is MD… DO… and many others but I have chosen to become a PA-C, a Certified Physician Assistant, thus I will be a PA-C Man.
