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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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