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Why become a physician assistant essay
Why become a physician assistant essay
Why become a physician assistant essay
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A physician assistant, commonly known as a PA, is a usually semi-autonomous medical professional who works with a healthcare team as a primary provider. Physician assistants are one of three recognized primary providers with the other two being nurse practitioners and physicians. They can diagnose, prescribe, and treat patients. Even while physician assistants are considered vital and trusted healthcare providers, their required education and training is significantly less than a doctors. In my personal pursuit of a job in healthcare, I chose physician assistant as an end objective because it fits perfectly into the apparent puzzle of life.
When I was 10 years old I was diagnosed with type one diabetes. Not only was this the begging of a life long struggle, but it was also the beginning of a love affair with medicine. This unfortunate occurrence was the reason I became interested in healthcare as a whole. I grew up knowing that I wanted to help people the way that my doctors helped me. I was immensely impressed with their vast knowledge and I
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idolized my doctors. It was amazing what they could achieve through science. Until I was around 19 years old I thought that I would be a doctor.
I wanted to be a doctor, that is, until a doctor himself told me not to pursue his own career. “Doc,” as we call him amongst my family, brought to my attention physician assistants. Before this I honestly was not very aware of the field. “It’s a really hot career choice right now,” he said. Becoming a physician assistant required less schooling than becoming a doctor did, and yet they still get to perform a lot of the same responsibilities as doctors do. Less school also means paying less money to go to school- a very enticing piece of the puzzle. Furthermore, I wanted to have a family in the future didn’t I? Doc reminded me how long and intense medical school could be and pointed out the difficulty of growing and having a life outside of school and, in the future, work. After this conversation, my mind was changed. I decided to become a physician
assistant. To become a PA, a master’s degree is required. Usually, a student completes high school, moves on to college to obtain a bachelor’s degree, and then applies to PA school. Physician Assistant schools are typically 2 or 3-year programs. These schools are highly competitive and require high GPAs and experience working in the health field through clinical hours. Physician assistants examine, diagnose, and treat. A physician assistant is able to prescribe medicine and lead teams. They can work in a hospital or in a doctor’s office or private practice. Different states have different laws about how much a physician assistant needs to be supervised, but they remain mostly autonomous. The median salary for a physician assistant is $87,342. The median salary in Chicago is $103,282 (salary.com, 2016). I grew up wanting to be, generally, a doctor. As I get older and realize my values, priorities, strengths, and weaknesses I’ve refined my vague ideas of a career into working as a physician assistant. Physician assistants practice medicine, go to less school, receive a good salary and have a growing demand. For these reasons and more, I’m interested in and determined to become a physician assistant.
Physician assistants (PA's) practice medicine under the supervision of physicians and surgeons. PA's are trained to provide diagnostic, therapeutic, and preventive health care services, as delegated by a physician. They work with members of a healthcare team, they take medical histories, examine and treat patients, order and interpret laboratory tests and x rays, and make diagnoses. PAs may be the principal care providers in rural or inner city clinics where a physician is present for only one or two days each week. In such cases, the PA confers with the supervising physician and other medical professionals as
The physician assistant is a team player in the medical world, working daily with surgeons, physicians, therapists, and many other health care professionals. Similar to the job description of physicians, PAs see patients, take medical histories, preform physical exams, make diagnoses, order and interpret tests, and develop treatment plans (Ludwig). A physician assistant, nowadays, may even perform procedures that were once performed exclusively by physicians. Because every PA must have a supervising physician who oversees their work, it is assumed by many that PAs are “assistants to doctors”, however, that is not the case because a vast majority of PAs work independently. The extent of supervision by a physician varies depending on location and branch of medicine. Although, a physician assistant may carry out much of the same roles as a physician would, the amount of schooling required to become a PA is nearly half as many as that of a physician. Physician assistant programs nationwide require an undergraduate degree in one of many sciences, such as biology, and certain
Moreover, as a physician assistant, my duties and responsibilities would include various tasks. I would examine patients and review patients’ medical history. I would perform diagnostic tests and diagnose a patient’s injury. I would provide treatment and console patients’ on the proper treatment. Lastly, I would assess
The career I plan on pursuing in life is becoming a certified medical assistant. Medical assisting is one of the fastest growing careers in healthcare. To become a certified medical assistant you will have to achieve a certification through the certifying board of the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA). While you can work as a medical assistant without being certified, employers are often looking for someone skilled and qualified.
The Healthcare Professional that I chose is a Dental Assistant. The reason why I chose to use a dental assistant as the Healthcare Professional was because I think that they are very important along with the dentists. Without dental assistants, dentist’s jobs would be more stressful than it already is in their job. Dental assistants greatly increase the efficiency of the dentist in the delivery of quality oral health care are valuable members of the dental care team.
Many people rush through their daily life without contemplating their actions, thereby missing vast opportunities for achievement. They waste valuable time engaging in frivolous matters instead of putting their energies towards more productive and meaningful purposes. In the words of the Dalai Lama: “Life is not about acquiring money and other facilities; it is about dedicating your life to helping others as much as you can.” The immeasurable value of helping others has been engrained in me since childhood. As a result of my own difficult family circumstances, I have become more sensitive, kind and mindful towards others and their own situations. I have developed a passion for helping others, which, in combination with a proclivity towards medicine has lead to my descion to become a Physician Assistant. I want to live a life where I can provide healthcare and aid to anyone who needs.
I chose a career as a medical assistant because of the rewards I knew I would experience on a daily basis. Seeing a patient smile because I have helped them understand, or just making them feel comfortable with their visit, is just one of the many perks of my job. Upon graduating from an accredited college such as The College of Health Care Professions (CHCP), I now work for one of the most reputable hospitals in my area. Within two short years of committed studies, I obtained my associate of applied science degree, and then went on to obtain my certification as a medical assistant. There is nothing I have found more fulfilling, strong, secure, or rewarding then choosing to become a medical assistant,
Physician Assistant is a career choice that entails various specialties and flexibilities that attracts many. Those who desires a path to practice medicine as soon as possible, PA 's lateral mobility allows that to happen. Compared to medical school, PA school requires less time and amount less debt. As the population grows and chronic diseases spreads, The future projection of PA is growing faster than the average careers.
Is Medical Assisting a great job for me in the future world? Medical assisting is a job that you help people with. This job includes things like taking blood samples, giving shots, check-ups, etc. Any interests I have had within this career is that you help others, prescribe medicine if they are in need, being prompt and taking care of others. Related talents to this career that I have is enjoying helping people, experiencing blood, doing regular check-ups etc. I have selected medical assisting as a career because its easy/ great training in under a year, employment growth, and flexible schedule. I believe that being a medical assisting is the best career for me.
The role of a physician assistant (PA) has been a vital part in the history of the health care system and continues to serve a much needed role in the medical model today. Although many patients are well-informed regarding the physician assistant profession, there are also some who are wary of seeing a PA over seeing a medical doctor (MD) for their health care needs. Despite the differences between the training and overall education model of a Physician Assistant versus a Medical Doctor, the quality of patient care is not affected. Therefore a patient’s perception of the care received during a medical visit should not decrease because of the type of health care provider.
It was the notion of selflessness that made me choose medicine as a profession. By the time I completed my high school, I was certain that serving others was what I wanted to pursue in my life. Being a doctor is more than just a profession for me. During the medical wards in third year of my medical school, I came across a little girl on a stretcher who had multiple
From a young age, I was drawn to the healthcare field, not because the amount of money doctors, nurses and other health professionals made, but because of the dedication and contentment I saw on their faces helping someone in need. Growing up everyone wanted to become a doctor or a nurse and as a little child being a doctor or a nurse was a profession many parents wanted their child to pursue as a career. Needless to say, I fell into that category because I had high hopes that one day I will become a nurse. However, that dream came to a halt.
From a young age, I was drawn to the healthcare field, not because of the amount of money doctors, nurses and other health professionals made, but because of the dedication and contentment I saw on their faces helping someone in need. Growing up everyone wanted to become a doctor or a nurse and as a little child being a doctor or a nurse was a profession many parents wanted their child to pursue as a career. Needless to say, I fell into that category because I wanted too. However, that dream came to a halt.
I've spent the past year going to school, working, and volunteering and I've learned through various ways that medicine is not only a path that I'm capable of, but one that I want more than anything in the world. As a full time student I have successfully taken many challenging courses. I have been working part time in a psychobiology lab learning how to perform research first hand. It was here that I discovered that although I love research, in many ways it is too disconnected from the people it is helping to be my ideal career. I spend a great deal of time in the clinics and the hospital at Boston University Medical Center and there I have observed the patient-doctor interaction and realized that I want to be involved with the people I'm helping.
As a healthcare assistant, you should explore through your local NHS Trust to arrange a work experience or volunteering opportunity to gain an understanding of what’s it like being a Health Care assistant.