Physician Assistants

Description

Provide healthcare services typically performed by a physician, under the supervision of a physician. Conduct complete physicals, provide treatment, and counsel patients. May, in some cases, prescribe medication. Must graduate from an accredited educational program for physician assistants.

Tasks

Examine patients to obtain information about their physical condition.
Interpret diagnostic test results for deviations from normal.
Obtain, compile and record patient medical data, including health history, progress notes and results of physical examination.
Make tentative diagnoses and decisions about management and treatment of patients.
Prescribe therapy or medication with physician approval.
Administer or order diagnostic tests, such as x-ray, electrocardiogram, and laboratory tests.
Perform therapeutic procedures, such as injections, immunizations, suturing and wound care, and infection management.
Instruct and counsel patients about prescribed therapeutic regimens, normal growth and development, family planning, emotional problems of daily living, and health maintenance.
Provide physicians with assistance during surgery or complicated medical procedures.
Visit and observe patients on hospital rounds or house calls, updating charts, ordering therapy, and reporting back to physician.
Supervise and coordinate activities of technicians and technical assistants.
Order medical and laboratory supplies and equipment.

Knowledge

Medicine and Dentistry: Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Psychology: Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Customer and Personal Service: Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Biology: Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Therapy and Counseling: Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
English Language: Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

Skills

Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Judgment and Decision Making: Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Instructing: Teaching others how to do something.
Social Perceptiveness: Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Abilities

Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Deductive Reasoning: The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Inductive Reasoning: The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

Work Activities

Assisting and Caring for Others: Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
Getting Information: Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events: Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
Making Decisions and Solving Problems: Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge: Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates: Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Analyzing Data or Information: Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts.
Monitor Processes, Materials, or Surroundings: Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships: Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Processing Information: Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.

Work Context

Face-to-Face Discussions: How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job?
Indoors, Environmentally Controlled: How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions?
Exposed to Disease or Infections: How often does this job require exposure to disease/infections?
Frequency of Decision Making: How frequently is the worker required to make decisions that affect other people, the financial resources, and/or the image and reputation of the organization?
Telephone: How often do you have telephone conversations in this job?
Physical Proximity: To what extent does this job require the worker to perform job tasks in close physical proximity to other people?
Importance of Being Exact or Accurate: How important is being very exact or highly accurate in performing this job?
Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results: How do the decisions an employee makes impact the results of co-workers, clients or the company?
Consequence of Error: How serious would the result usually be if the worker made a mistake that was not readily correctable?
Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets: How much does this job require wearing common protective or safety equipment such as safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hard hats or life jackets?

Interests

Investigative: Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.
Social: Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.
Realistic: Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
Conventional: Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
Artistic: Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.
Enterprising: Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

Work Style

Dependability: Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Concern for Others: Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
Integrity: Job requires being honest and ethical.
Attention to Detail: Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Analytical Thinking: Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.
Cooperation: Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Initiative: Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
Stress Tolerance: Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.
Social Orientation: Job requires preferring to work with others rather than alone, and being personally connected with others on the job.
Achievement/Effort: Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.

Work Values

Relationships: Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.
Working Conditions: Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions. Corresponding needs are Activity, Compensation, Independence, Security, Variety and Working Conditions.
Achievement: Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.
Support: Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.
Independence: Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.
Recognition: Occupations that satisfy this work value offer advancement, potential for leadership, and are often considered prestigious. Corresponding needs are Advancement, Authority, Recognition and Social Status.

Related Occupations

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Lay Titles

Anesthesiologist Assistant

Anesthetic Assistant

Cardiology Physician Assistant

Cardiothoracic Surgery Physician Assistant

Cardiovascular Physician Assistant

Dermatology Physician Assistant

Doctor

Doctor Assistant

Emergency Medicine Physician Assistant

Emergency Room Physician Assistant

Emergency Services Physician Assistant

Family Nurse Practitioner

Family Practice Physician Assistant

General Surgery Physician Assistant

Gynecological Assistant

Medical Service Technician

Midlevel Provider

Neurosurgical Physician Assistant

Nurse Practitioner

Obstetrics and Gynecology Physician Assistant

Orthopaedic Physician Assistant

Orthopedic Physician Assistant

Pediatric Physician Assistant

Physician Assistant (PA)

Physician Assistant Certified (PAC)

Physician Extender

Physician's Assistant

Surgeon Assistant

Surgery Technician (Surgery Tech)

Surgical First Assistant

Surgical Physician Assistant

Thoracic Physician Assistant

National Wages and Employment Info

Median Wages (2008):: $43.72 hourly, $90,930 annual.

Employment (2008):: 83,640 employees