If you are a new student and are thinking about pursuing a career in the medical field, like me, you have a lot of options. You could become a Registered Nurse, a Physician, a Physician Assistant, a Dentist, an Audiologist, an Anesthesiologist or many other professions. In this article I am going to narrow it down for you between a Physician and a Physician Assistant and I am going to tell you why I would prefer being a Physician Assistant over the highly prestigious Physician career. Physician Assistant is a relatively new career and there are many misconceptions about what individuals with this title do in the medical field.
The career I plan on pursuing in life is becoming a certified medical assistant. Medical assisting is one of the fastest growing careers in healthcare. To become a certified medical assistant you will have to achieve a certification through the certifying board of the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA). While you can work as a medical assistant without being certified, employers are often looking for someone skilled and qualified.
Physician Assistant is a career choice that entails various specialties and flexibilities that attracts many. Those who desires a path to practice medicine as soon as possible, PA 's lateral mobility allows that to happen. Compared to medical school, PA school requires less time and amount less debt. As the population grows and chronic diseases spreads, The future projection of PA is growing faster than the average careers.
An article by Ponte and O’Neill (2013), states that applicants entering a nurse practitioner program must have a bachelor’s degree in nursing along with clinical nursing experience. In comparison, the article states that physician assistant programs encourage an undergraduate education focused on the sciences followed by a two year graduate program. All physician assistants must pass the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination to become certified while nurse practitioners obtain certification in their specialty under state certifying organizations (Ponte & O’Neill, 2013). Salaries for physician assistants and nurse practitioners are comparable. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2014), the mean annual wage for a physician assistant in the U.S. is $97,280 compared to nurse practitioners average of $97,990 annually. The scope of practice between physician assistants and nurse practitioners is also similar. The article by Ponte and O’Neill (2013), explains that while both physician assistants and nurse practitioners can diagnose and treat patients, their independence varies from state to state. Most physician assistants must be overseen by a physician in their specialty; meanwhile in some states, nurse
You need two years of postgraduate schooling after your basic four. Most people going into training already have bachelor’s degree and some type of healthcare training. Most people that are physicians assistants did not go into college wanting that to be there job. Majority of them were EMT’s or registered nurses before and decided to go into the physicians assistant program. There are a lot of important skills needed to be a physicians assistant and those can make or break your career. Communication, emotional stability, and compassion are very important to have. Communication is key to be able to talk to your patients and let them know what is going on. Emotional stability is important to not break down when things go wrong with your patient and to not show weakness, staying positive. Compassion for your patients is also important to let them know you care and want to be there to help
Becoming a Medical Assistant believe it or not is an awesome career. Being able to be on the inside and handling emergency hands on is what I will be experiencing. Medical Assistants overall have many job duties and I might add if you are a busy person and you have the urge to help others, then this job is for you. Overall, the objective is to point out the duties, various opportunities and what you will be able to accomplish in the role as a Medical Assistant.
Certified Medical Assistants are able to have a challenging and simulating workday, and have a salary of $42,000 a year. They have many employment benefits such as vacation pay and it is a perfect job for anyone willing to do make it one!
As a medical assistant you may work in a clinical or administrative environment. Clinical medical assistant’s duties may include taking vital signs of patients, conducting in-office screening tests, collecting and preparing specimens to send to diagnostic laboratories, recording medical histories, and administering medications. The work environment may be in a hospital or a physician office along a physician. Administrative medical assistant’s duties may include updating patient records, greeting patients, setting appointments, calling in prescriptions or refills as directed by the doctor, answering phones, and arranging for diagnostic testing or other procedures. Their work environment is usually in an office setting focusing on making sure the medical practice is running smooth. At the end of the day it is just more expensive to hire a, nurse and a secretary when you can somewhat have the best of both worlds with a medical assistant. With the demand for more health services medical assistants can assist doctors in a clinical and administrative manner to allow more patients to be seen.
These programs are usually available at the master's level and often require applicants to have bachelor's degrees and some amount of experience in the healthcare profession to gain admission. Many physician assistants serve as emergency medical technicians, nurses or paramedics before pursuing admission to physician assistant programs. Physician assistant programs generally take 26 months of full-time study to complete. During the first year, students focus on classroom instruction in medical science and clinical preparation. Courses may include pathology, pediatrics, diagnosis, surgical technique, emergency medicine, pharmacology and research methods. Afterward, the curriculum shifts to focus mostly on clinical rotations in various disciplines, such as general surgery, gynecology and behavioral medicine. During these rotations, students gain first-hand experience in patient care under the supervision of licensed physicians. Physician assistants are required to be licensed by the state in which they practice. Along with completion of an accredited training program, the licensing process entails passage of the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination. The National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants, evaluates fundamental medical and surgical comprehension (www.nccpa.net). PA’s who pass the PANCE may use the Physician Assistant-Certified (PA-C) designation. Physician assistants must earn 100 continuing education credits every two years. They are also required to pass the Physician Assistant National Recertifying Exam every six
Physician assistants can do more than a nurse, but not quite as much as a doctor. Their work is welcome in many places. Generally, a physician assistant is paid quite well for their labors. The medical field is very interesting.
My lifetime goal is helping others and I plan to use my career to fulfill it. The classes I’m taking right now and the ones I’m planning to take senior year are classes I believe will influence my decision in my college major/career as well as counting toward my GPA. This will help me get into schools who have medical programs that I’m considering. Also, taking AP classes can help me save money since I can earn college credit. I’m taking all AP classes, and the electives I’m taking have been classes that have helped me consider being in the medical field. I’ve found that over the years, science and math are what I’m doing better in versus history and english. I believe by being in the medical field, I can help others in the best way I can.
Medical assistants typically graduate from postsecondary education programs, and employers may prefer to hire assistants who have completed these programs. Programs for medical assisting are available from community colleges, vocational schools, technical schools, and universities and take about 1 year to c...
The steps of education to become a medical assistant is obtaining a Post-secondary degree (offers social/ economic benefits), Associate’s degree (course of study usually 2 years community college, junior college, technical college), and High school diploma (graduation of high school). To attend this job (medical assisting) it takes 2 years at the most. The main degree for this job that is needed is an Associate’s degree. Training starts when you apply for the job and you get called in for training to prepare you for the experience before you actually start the
I chose a career as a medical assistant because of the rewards I knew I would experience on a daily basis. Seeing a patient smile because I have helped them understand, or just making them feel comfortable with their visit, is just one of the many perks of my job. Upon graduating from an accredited college such as The College of Health Care Professions (CHCP), I now work for one of the most reputable hospitals in my area. Within two short years of committed studies, I obtained my associate of applied science degree, and then went on to obtain my certification as a medical assistant. There is nothing I have found more fulfilling, strong, secure, or rewarding then choosing to become a medical assistant,
In a private practice the physicians look for applicants who have completed their technical certification, so they can have someone with the latest technological experience, and college diplomas. They will most likely specifically train new medical assistants in job duties, and the requirements of their specific practices. For a position in a private practice you can expect to earn anywhere from $17-$18 hourly (par.