Physician Assistants, Physician Associates

High School

Since a physician assistant needs to be good with numbers and understand how the human body works, anyone interested in this job can begin preparing in high school by taking math and science classes, such as biology and chemistry, as well as health classes. English, foreign language, and social science classes, such as psychology, will also help you improve your communication skills and give you an understanding of people. Since it is difficult to get into PA school, be sure to work hard in high school to develop good study habits and earn high grades.

Also, keep in mind that it's not too early to gain some experience in the health care field. Many postsecondary institutions take into consideration an applicant's hands-on experience when deciding whom to accept, so look for paid or volunteer positions in your community.

Postsecondary Training

Most states require that PAs complete an educational program approved by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (https://www.arc-pa.org). Most educational programs are graduate programs leading to the award of master's degrees in either physician assistant studies, health science, or medical science, and require a bachelor's degree and high GRE or MCAT scores for entry. Most PA educational programs last 24 to 36 months. Acceptance to PA programs is highly competitive.

The American Academy of Physician Assistants says that “many PA programs require prior healthcare experience with hands-on patient care. Most students have about three years of health care experience before entering a program.” Examples of occupational fields where an aspiring Pa can obtain experience include medical assistant, lab assistant/phlebotomist, registered nurse, emergency room technician, emergency medical technician, paramedic, surgical tech, or certified nursing assistant.

The beginning of most programs involves classroom instruction in human anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, pathology, microbiology, clinical pharmacology, applied psychology, clinical medicine, and medical ethics. Then students engage in supervised clinical work, usually including assignments, or rotations, in various branches of medicine, such as family practice, pediatrics, and emergency medicine.

Physician assistants may also complete residency training, similar to physicians' residencies but significantly shorter, in fields such as OB/GYN, emergency medicine, critical care, orthopedics, neurology, surgery, and other medical disciplines.

Other Education or Training

The American Academy of Physician Assistants offers continuing education classes and webinars. Visit https://www.aapa.org/cme-central for more information.