9781422279922

Physician Assistants

Careers in Healthcare

Athletic Trainers Clinical & Medical Laboratory Scientists Dental Hygienists Dietitian Nutritionists EMTs & Paramedics Nurses Physical Therapists Physician Assistants Respiratory Therapists Speech Pathologists & Audiologists Ultrasound Technicians Occupational Therapists Orthotists & Prosthetists

Physician Assistants

Samantha Simon

Mason Crest Philadelphia

Mason Crest 450 Parkway Drive, Suite D

Broomall, PA 19008 www.masoncrest.com ©2018 by Mason Crest, an imprint of National Highlights, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the publisher.

Printed and bound in the United States of America. CPSIA Compliance Information: Batch #CHC2017. For further information, contact Mason Crest at 1-866-MCP-Book. First printing 1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

on file at the Library of Congress ISBN: 978-1-4222-3804-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4222-7992-2 (ebook) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4222-3337-5 (hc) ISBN 978-1-4222-8622-7 (ebook)

1. Southwestern States—Juvenile literature. 2. Arizona—Juvenile literature. 3. California—Juvenile literature. 4. Nevada—Juvenile literature. I. Title. F785.7.L37 2015 979—dc23 2014050200

Careers in Healthcare series ISBN: 978-1-4222-3794-6

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Table of Contents 1: What Do Physician Assistants Do? ........................7 2: A Look at the Opportunities ................................17 3: Education and Training ........................................27 4: Evolution of Physicial Assistants ........................37 5: Overview and Interview ......................................47 Series Glossary of Key Terms....................................58 Further Reading ........................................................60 Internet Resources ....................................................61 Index ..........................................................................62 Photo Credits/About the Author..............................64

Words to understand: These words with their easy-to-understand definitions will increase the reader’s understanding of the text while building vocabulary skills.

Sidebars: This boxed material within the main text allows readers to build knowl- edge, gain insights, explore possibilities, and broaden their perspectives by weaving together additional information to provide realistic and holistic perspectives. Educational Videos: Readers can view videos by scanning our QR codes, providing them with additional educational content to supplement the text. Examples include news coverage, moments in history, speeches, iconic sports moments and much more!

Text-dependent questions: These questions send the reader back to the text for more careful attention to the evidence presented there.

Research projects: Readers are pointed toward areas of further inquiry connected to each chapter. Suggestions are provided for projects that encourage deeper research and analysis. Series glossary of key terms: This back-of-the-book glossary contains terminology used throughout this series. Words found here increase the reader’s ability to read and comprehend higher-level books and articles in this field.

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Physician assistants see patients of all ages, and treat those with the most minor to the most severe diseases.

Words to Understand in This Chapter

Affordable Care Act— also known as Obamacare; a federal statute, passed in 2010, that allows greater access to affordable and quality health insurance for all US citizens. PAs— physician assistants. physical assessment— assessing the health status of patients by examining their physical symptoms and vitals. physician-PA teams— collaborative health care teams made up of physicians and physician assistants. preventive medicine— medicine and medical techniques designed to prevent any disease or disease symptoms. Examples include diet and exercise or even pre- ventive medications.

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What Do Physician Assistants Do? A s the health care system has changed substantially over the past few years, physician assistants have played a major role in how health care is adminis- tered. Physician assistants ( PAs ) help patients regain their health and well-being in times of sickness and help them con- tinue to lead healthy lives after treatment. PAs are both nation- ally and state certified, and they practice medicine on a team with physicians, surgeons, and other health care professionals. They are allowed to prescribe medication, perform certain pro- cedures, assist in surgeries, assess patients, and read laborato- ry results. Physician assistants work hand in hand with doctors, nurs- es, and other health care personnel to ensure the best health

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care for their patients. Physician-PA teams follow a collaborative health care approach, which has been shown to improve health care outcomes and to promote preventive medicine . The US health care sys- tem is catching up to the collaborative model used in other countries, and has been reaping the benefits of team-based care. PAs can decrease demand for care through preventive approaches, education, and treatment. They allow physicians to see more patients during the business day by alleviating some of the routine work for physicians— such as doing physical assessments of patients, taking medical histo- ries, or even assisting in the diagnosis of patient illness. With this type of teamwork, both physicians and physician assistants can treat more patients effectively in less time. As preventive care takes center stage in the US health care system, PAs are able to cut down on the popula- tion’s overall health care needs, curb spending on health care, and lower the risk of disease among patients. The Value of Physician Assistants With a general medicine education, PAs bring to their work a broad array of knowledge in multiple types of medicine. This allows PAs to choose one specialty and then move on to another, if they want. PAs

can be found assisting in an operat- ing room or assessing a patient in a primary care physician’s office. With the shortage of medical profes- sionals readily available to meet the ever-growing demands for health care services, PAs fill in gaps in the health care system so patients every- where can receive quality care.

Did You Know?

In its 2016 ranking of the best health care jobs in the United States, U.S. News and World Report ranked physician assistant fourth overall.

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Physician Assistants

Physicians and physician assistants work together to treat a patient.

With the passing of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, health care in the United States has shifted its emphasis to providing health care for all Americans, while trying to reduce health care costs overall. The Affordable Care Act also enabled mil- lions more people to obtain health insurance, increasing the demand for health care services. PAs figure prominently in contemporary health care under this reform by providing pre- ventive care, enabling patients to spend more time with a health care professional, and offering more education for patients on how to stay healthy.

What Do Physician Assistants Do?

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Physician assistants are known as the universal healthcare professional, because they often have a broad array of general medical training.

PAs take a holistic approach to health care, which dovetails with the contemporary direction in health care in the United States. They encourage constant communication with their

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Physician Assistants

patients, and promote the same kind of communication among medical professionals, all with an eye toward coordinating care so they can make and keep their patients well. PAs look at each patient’s overall medical condition, medical history, and whether the patient is being treated for an acute disease or a chronic condition. In working with their patients, they make “Working in pediatric surgery, I work hand in hand with the hematology and oncology department because we put in all the metaports. These are the little buttons that go under the skin and are attached to a tube that connects to a major vein. They’re designed so we can deliver medication to patients without having to stick them every time. This device is espe- cially good for our long-term chemotherapy patients. So it is always a happy day when the hematology department asks us to remove a port, which means the kid is done with treatment and is ready to be discharged. Just last week we were asked to come in to remove a port from a little boy who had a very rare and highly malignant brain tumor. He had an almost zero per- cent chance to survive, but he beat it. It was just amazing to see, and to see that modern medicine really works. It was just incredible.” A Real-Life Experience A physical therapist recounted the following story about an expe- rience she had with a patient that will stay with her forever:

What Do Physician Assistants Do?

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As part of the health care team, physician assistants tend to spend more hands-on time with patients than physicians do.

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sure each one understands his treatment plan, how to prevent his disease from progressing any further, and how he should be responding to treatment. Physician assistants spend more hands-on time with patients than physicians do, both before and during exams and diagnosis. This gives physicians more time to accurately and efficiently diagnose and support patients, reducing health care costs in many ways. The more time the patient spends with a PA, the more time the patient gets for proper patient education and discussion about her concerns or questions regarding treat- ment or any other issues related to her health. The more edu- cated and knowledgeable a patient becomes about her medical

High blood pressure can be successfully mitigated if the patient is educated and treated correctly. Physician assistants help in the prevention and education of many diseases like high blood pressure.

What Do Physician Assistants Do?

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PAs are expected to alleviate some of the routine work for physicians, such as performing physical assessments of patients and taking medical histories.

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Physician Assistants

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