Why I Want To Be A Physician Assistant Essay

Becoming a physician assistant requires many years of hard work, responsibilities, and schooling. A physician assistant provides healthcare under supervision of a physician, anywhere from prescribing medication, to completing physicals, to counseling patients. Physician assistants are becoming a high demand position. Physician assistants have one of the highest rises in employment in the medical field. Becoming a physician assistant is a great alternative to becoming a doctor. Physician assistants have very similar responsibilities to doctors but with less schooling, less student loans, and typically the sponsoring doctor/facility will cover the malpractice insurance.
An average work day of a physician assistant consists of a lot of social

contact. Physician assistants try to obtain information, solve problems, and assist and care for patients. The main focus of physician assistants is to examine patients to learn information about their medical history and physical condition. Physician assistants can have many different work activities or tasks they have to complete. They can order laboratory or medical supplies, review tests such as an x-ray or a laboratory test, diagnose conditions, or even assist physicians during a major surgery. Physician assistants also have the capability of prescribing certain medications. They also can have a very structured schedule for patients’ appointments or they can have a very busy schedule if they are working in the emergency room. Physician assistants work in a variety of environments, such as hospitals, clinics, or doctor’s offices. Physician assistants have the option of working full or part time, but most physician assistants work more than forty hours a week. Based on the location they are working, they can end up working on weekends, nights, or in the early morning. In Massachusetts, the average physician assistant makes $49.99 an hour and $103,990.00 each year. The nation’s average income is $47.20 an hour and $98,180.00 a year. Full time physician assistants usually receive sick leave, paid vacation, and health insurance. (MassCIS)
In order to become a physician assistant, there are some schooling requirements.

A high school diploma is required. Some helpful high school classes to take to prepare for this job are science and math classes such as Biology, Anatomy, Calculus, Statistics, Physics, and Chemistry. Advanced Placement classes are also highly suggested. After high school, a master’s degree is required as well as a degree from a physician assistant program and a physician assistant license is needed. Some colleges actually have a physician assistant program. If a college does not offer a physician program, another option is majoring in an undergraduate science program such as Biology, Biochemistry, Anatomy, or Physiology and then applying to a physician assistant master’s program. Some colleges that offer a physician assistant program are the University of New England, Northeastern University, Tufts University, Quinnipiac University, and Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences University. Some other jobs in the medical field similar to a physician assistant are registered nurses, pharmacists, physical therapists, and genetic counselors. (Naviance) Some important skills needed to become a physician assistant are being able to stay organized, manage time and information, and being very patient with other co-workers and patients. Communication and problem solving are also very important skills to have to become a physician

assistant.
Physician assistants have very high number of annual job openings both in Massachusetts and in the nation. The employment growth for physician assistants in Massachusetts is 24% and national growth is 30.5%. The ten year growth of physician assistants is much faster than average and has a very strong outlook. It is predicted as the population gets larger, there will be a larger need for physician assistants and other medical employees.(MassCIS) Some hospitals that are hiring physician assistants in Boston right now are Brigham & Woman’s Hospital, Tufts Medical Center, and Boston Medical Center. Some requirements these hospitals are looking for are experience, a license in physician assisting, and a great education. Some ways to gain experience to become a physician assistant is starting off as a registered nurse. Experience as a registered nurse along with the appropriate schooling can lead to a permanent job as a physician assistant. Starting off as a registered nurse shows the hospital that you have experience and are capable of working with patients in the hospital environment to become a physician assistant.
Overall, this job is very important to society. There will always be a need for physician assistants in our society, because there is a shortage of doctors. Physician assistants’ main purpose is to try to help keep people healthy. The challenging part about this career is you have to be very independent and be able to make fast, smart, life affecting decisions. This career also requires a lot of hard work in school and preparing to become a physician assistant. This job can also be stressful at times, trying to help as many people as possible. Some positive perks of this career is that they are able to help people every day to make their patients healthier and happier. This is a life changing job that can really help other people and physician assistants are able to see the effect they have on people right away. All this hard work, responsibilities, and schooling can have life changing effects on people. A physician assistant is a person who wants to use their knowledge about medicine to help and care for people become healthier and happier every single day.