Physician assistants are health care professionals licensed (or, in the case of those employed by the federal government , "credentialed") to practice medicine with physician supervision. As part of their comprehensive responsibilities, physician assistants or "PAs" conduct physical exams, diagnose and treat illnesses, order and interpret tests, counsel on preventive health care, assist in surgery and write prescriptions. With the physician-PA relationship, physician assistants exercise autonomy in medical decision making and provide a broad range of diagnostic and therapeutic services. A PA's practice may also include education, research and administrative services.

 

Recommended courses for high school students who wish to become physician assistants include mathematics, biology, chemistry and physics.

 

After earning a bachelor's degree,  physician assistants are educated in intensive medical programs accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA). The average PA program curriculum runs approximately 26 months and there are about 140 accredited PA programs in the United States. For information, visit the American Academy of Physician Assistants Web site.

 

For More Information
For more information, contact undergraduate advisor Yvonne Kobe in the Department of Biology at 435-797-3203; The Biology Advising Center, Biology-Natural Resources building, Room 101. Further information is also available on the Biology Department’s Web site.