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Chapter 13 |
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"Anywhere a doctor works, a PA can work. There are jobs in orthopedics, pediatrics, the emergency room, surgery-you name it."
Rick Markson is a physician assistant working in the mental health program of the VA Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Rick treats veterans with mental health disorders and substance abuse problems. Often his patients have physical, mental, and substance abuse problems at the same time. Because the VA is an urgent care walk-in facility, most of the patients that Rick sees come in without a scheduled appointment. "We take them as they come," says Rick. A typical day for Rick includes mental health evaluations, treatment, follow up with returning patients, medication management, and counseling. "At the VA, we see people returning from combat with post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, things like that. We see a lot of chronic mental illness and do crisis intervention. A lot of the day is doing assessments."
Treating the Whole Person Rick finds the contact with his patients very gratifying. "One of the frustrations many people have with medicine is how fragmented it is. We treat individual symptoms and illnesses- sometimes it seems like no one in medicine is looking at the patient as a whole person. A physician assistant spends more time with patients and helps people cope in a healthier way. We do a lot of education, we intervene when people are not well, and we hope to help people live more healthy and productive lives." Although many of Rick's patients have a mental illness that tends to get worse over time, he says that his job is to keep working with people and being there for them so that they are encouraged to improve. This can take months or years. "It's very satisfying when you see people start to take care of themselves and get better. You see people make the decision to get sober, to get their problems addressed, and to deal with their health problems." Physician assistants, or PAs, work under the supervision of a physician, but they have a lot of authority for making decisions. They can write prescriptions, diagnose patients, and order lab tests. PAs work in many different areas of medicine. Rick has worked in hospitals, in mental health clinics, and in a county jail. "Anywhere a doctor works, a PA can work. There are jobs in orthopedics, pediatrics, the emergency room, surgery- you name it. Follow your interests."
Two Years of Training To become a physician assistant, you must complete a 24-month program of study. Some students get their bachelor's degree and PA certificate simultaneously. Others, like Rick, enroll in PA school after obtaining an A.A. or B.A. elsewhere. Rick studied social sciences as an undergraduate and did not have much science background before entering PA school. "Physician assistants need a strong background in anatomy and physiology in order to understand what's happening in the patients' bodies. Taking A & P before entering the PA program is a good idea. It will give you a boost on your studies." Having some practical experience in medicine is often a requirement to get into PA school. Rick recommends working as a volunteer or in a paid job in some aspect of the medical field, whether as a technician, an aide, or a paramedic. Rick used his own background working in special education with disabled children as medical experience for PA school. PAs must also pass a national exam in order to be licensed in most states. They must recertify every six years and must present continuing education credits every two years. For more information about training and career opportunities for physician assistants, visit the website of the American Academy of Physician Assistants at www.aapa.org.
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