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EDUCATION:
There are 10 accredited
primary care physician assistant programs in California and
137 accredited programs throughout the country,
most of which require 24-48 months to complete. Many programs
require applicants to have completed two years of college prior
to admission and to have previous health care experience.
Programs are accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission
on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) based on
quality standards deemed essential for PA education.
Most physician assistants nationwide are trained in broad based
primary care, although there are PA specialists as well.
Other California programs additionally offer postgraduate training
in orthopedic and cardiothoracic surgery.
The education of PA students is similar to that of medical
students in that a didactic phase of intense academic course
work is followed
by supervised clinical experiences or rotations.
In the first year, students usually complete courses in such
topics as anatomy and physiology, microbiology, physical diagnosis,
pharmacology, common laboratory and screening techniques, common
medical and surgical procedures, medical ethics, and a course
in clinical medicine, among others.
In the clinical phase, students apply the skills they learned
during the didactic phase of training through rotations in
primary care and specialty settings under the supervision
of a physician.
Training emphasizes eliciting complete patient histories, performing
physical examinations, ordering and interpreting diagnostic
tests, instituting therapeutic plans, and patient education
focusing
on preventive medicine.
Examination:
Every new PA in California must pass the Physician Assistant
National Certifying Examination (PANCE) administered by the
National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants
(NCCPA).
The examination is comprehensive in scope and assesses academic
and patient management knowledge.
Certification:
PAs maintain national certification by earning 100 hours of continuing
medical education every two years, and are retested every six
years by the NCCPA.
Licensure:
To practice in California, each PA must be licensed by the Physician
Assistant Committee of the Medical Board of California. This
requires submitting an official application and fees, proof of
graduation from an approved program and successful completion
of the National Certifying Examination.
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