Physician Assistant History

March 9, 2017
Aspen Wayment
History of Physician Assistants There were many events leading up to the origination of the physician assistant. The military necessity in times of war was one of these events that induced the use of “non-physicians” and helped pave a pathway for physician assistants. In 1940 a highly respected physician trained his own “doctor’s assistant” to tend his patients while he was away receiving further medical education. This event was a major success and a brief example of what was to come a mere fifteen years later.
The physician assistant occupation truly began in 1965 when a considerable shortage of physicians brought forth a breakthrough. At this time there were also many corpsmen returning from the Vietnam War with adequate skills to access surgical conditions but without the formal education. A man by the name of Dr. Eugene Stead then created a program at Duke University to give these people formal training and education. By the time they finished their two-year fast-tracked program these individuals would be equipped to provide medical care to underserved populations and rural communities under the direction of a physician. For centuries nations have looked for ways to meet military, and public health needs, as well as providing care to rural and underserved areas where physicians did not exist. The coming about of the physician assistant brought with it a way to solve some of these problems in a more immediate way. Originally these men and women’s experience on the battle field had prepared them to work in an

Physician Assistant Program. Web. 5 Mar. 2017.
"Period 01." Physician Assistant History Society. PAEA, n.d. Web. 05 Mar. 2017.
"Physician Associate Program." History of the Profession Physician Associate Program | Medical Education | Yale School of Medicine. Yale School of Medicine, n.d. Web. 05 Mar.