Physician Assistant A physician assistant is “a person academically and clinically prepared to practice medicine under the supervision of a licensed doctor of medicine ….” (Medical Dictionary, 2003). A physician assistant can perform many of the same task as doctors such as examine, diagnose, and treat patients. They work in all areas of medicine including, but not limited to, dermatology, pediatrics, surgery, and psychiatry. The main difference of being a physician assistant versus being a doctor is that physician assistants are limited in certain areas of what they can do legally. Physician assistants must abide by state regulations when treating a patient and are not allowed to perform certain tasks without the presence of a doctor. But not only are they legally required to refer certain patients to doctors but they are ethically required to refer to a doctor when the time calls. They know their limits …show more content…
News, 2014). Reason being is that becoming a physician assistant is a lot faster than becoming a doctor. “Employment of physician assistants is projected to grow 30 percent from 2014 to 2024, much faster than the average for all occupations” (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2015). With the rise of newly insured people and aging population more healthcare professionals are in demand. Number of jobs advertised locally according to Indeed is 459 and there is 0 according to the Sunday Herald. Most of the jobs that were advertised asked for at least one year of experienced. The amount of money that a physician assistant makes depends on their specialty and experience. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics the average physician assistant makes a little over $100,000, the lowest that they may make is a little over $65,000 and the highest they may make is more than $140,000 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics,