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  hysician
assistants provide medical, diagnostic and therapeutic services
under the supervision of licensed physicians.
The supervising physician may delegate to the PA most medical
services and duties that are routinely performed within the normal
scope of the physician's practice and which the PA is competent
to perform. The supervising physician has ultimate responsibility
for the patient and supervision of the PA.
The physician assistant concept was born during an era when primary
care physicians were in short supply, particularly in rural and
inner city areas. In 1965, in an effort to augment scarce medical
care, Dr. Eugene Stead of Duke University established the first
PA training program. He believed that, under the supervision
of a physician, PAs could safely and effectively provide services
previously provided solely by physicians. He was accurate in
his vision.
Today, there are 135 accredited PA programs and over 58,000
physician assistants nationwide. PAs perform a wide variety
of medical and surgical functions, depending on their training,
practice setting, and the needs of their supervising physician.
In practice, most PAs routinely elicit complete medical histories
and perform comprehensive physical examinations. They see patients
with common acute problems such as infections and injuries. They
do minor surgical procedures and provide ongoing care for common
chronic problems such as arthritis, low back complaints, hypertension
and diabetes. Physician assistant practice is centered on patient
care and may include education, research and administrative activities.
Physicians of any specialty may employ a PA. Just as there are
many kinds of physician specialists, there are many kinds of
PAs.
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