---

Some of you may remember my writings several years ago when I was working as a paramedic. I ceased writing just before entering Stanford University’s physician assistant program as a full-time student in 2005.

Health Matters is a community health and safety forum for covering issues that are important to you and the communities of the West Side. Please, e-mail me with suggestions, concerns and questions, and I will do my best to address the issues at hand.

Since graduating last year and beginning to practice in the community, one of the most common questions I have been asked is, “What exactly is a physician assistant?” To put it simply, a physician assistant is a health care professional who practices medicine in partnership with a supervising physician.

As part of their comprehensive responsibilities, PAs conduct physical exams, diagnose and treat illnesses, order and interpret tests, counsel on preventive health care, assist in surgery and write prescriptions.

To better understand the physician assistant profession, it is helpful to understand how it developed. The Internet encyclopedia Wikipedia summarizes it as follows:

“The PA profession came into existence in the mid-1960s due to the shortage and uneven geographic distribution of primary-care physicians in the United States.

“Dr. Eugene Stead of the Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina assembled the first class of PAs in 1965, composed of former U.S. Navy hospital corpsman and U.S. Army combat medics, who had received considerable medical training during their military service and gained valuable experience during the Vietnam War.

“He based the curriculum of the PA program in part on his first-hand knowledge of the fast-track training of medical doctors during World War II.”

Today, physician assistant candidates are also chosen from experienced health care workers, such as paramedics, nurses, physical and respiratory therapists and orthopedic and surgical technicians. Along with extensive patient-care experience, candidates must meet the academic life science prerequisites, such as human anatomy and physiology, microbiology, chemistry and physics.

After being selected, they undergo an intensive two-year program that teaches them the fundamentals of practicing medicine and includes clinical rotations with physician evaluators in family medicine, surgery, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology. Upon graduation, PAs undergo a rigorous national board certification and must complete the licensing process of the Medical Board of California.

Because of their close educational and clinical relationship with physicians, PAs enjoy the support of the American Medical Association, the American College of Surgeons, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Physicians and other national medical organizations. Such groups support the physician assistant profession by actively supporting the PA certifying commission and the PA program accrediting agency.

Federal studies have shown that PAs, in partnership with a supervising physician, provide care that is comparable to physician care.

With all of this in mind, patients should rest assured that they are being well taken care of by any PA.

Physician assistants may not have the letters “MD” after their names, but they care just as deeply for the patients they serve, and they hold the highest commitment to extending physician-level services to geographical areas that would otherwise not have them.

If not for PAs, there would be a serious deficiency of health care services for communities on the West Side. Indeed, most clinics on the West Side have PAs, and chances are you or others in your family have been treated by a PA.

For more information about PAs and their history, abilities, clinical and professional issues, take a look at the American Academy of Physician Assistants site at www.aapa.org .

Richard O’Bryan is a nationally board certified and licensed physician assistant and a licensed paramedic who practices at the Patterson First Care clinic. You can e-mail him questions and suggestions at AskHealthMatters@yahoo.com.

The Patterson Irrigator encourages a free and open exchange of ideas and information. We reserve the right but do not assume any obligation to delete comments that do not meet our publishing standards.