Physician Assistant Profession (PA)

Pictures & Images

See all Pictures & Images

History of the profession

The first Physician Assistant Training Program was founded in 1965 at Duke University by Dr. Eugene Stead. Currently (2003), there are 134 programs in operation.

Most programs require applicants to have at least 2 years of college experience and some experience within the health care setting (such as an emergency medical technician, ambulance attendant, health educator, licensed practical nurse or associate degree nurse). However, because of the competitive environment, the average PA student has a bachelor's degree in some field and about 4 years of health-related experience. Educational programs for PAs are typically associated with colleges of medicine and vary from 25 to 27 months in length.

The initial PA students were primarily military medics or corpsmen, who were able to expand upon the knowledge base they had received in the military to move into a role in primary care. Over the years, male domination within the profession has consistently decreased and about 59% of PAs today are women. The physician assistant role, legally associated with a supervising physician, has allowed PAs to perform tasks previously only performed by doctors: history taking, physical examination, diagnosis, and patient management.

Numerous studies have documented the ability of PAs to provide high-quality health care, comparable to that of a physician, for about 80% of the conditions seen in primary care settings.