Physician Assistant Information

• Helpful Links
• FAQ's
• Career Description
• Admission Requirements
• Prerequisite Classes
• Application Process
• List of Schools
• Specific School Information

Helpful Links

• Physician Assistant Education Association
• American Academy of Physician Assistants
• CASPA online application
• Directory of PA Schools
• Explanations of various health professions

Physician Assistant FAQ's

What is a PA?

• PAs provide healthcare services under the supervision of physicians. They treat minor injuries by suturing, splinting, and casting, as well as recording progress notes, instructing and counseling patients, and ordering or carrying out therapy; they may also prescribe medications.

What is the work week like? What are the working conditions?

• Schedules vary depending on practice setting:
• PAs that work in clinics work around 40 hours/week in well lighted, comfortable settings.
• Other schedules may include nights, weekends, or early morning rounds.

What is the average salary?

• The average salary of PAs is $85,000/year (starting is around $60,000/year).

What are the admission requirements?

• A combination of science and non-science classes
• 80% of schools require the GRE
• GPA range 3.08-3.64
• Clinical experience absolutely essential; 1000-2000 hrs average

What should I major in?

• What ever you'd like to! No particular major is required; do something you like and that you can do well in and then make sure you complete the required classes in addition to that major.

How long is the schooling to become a PA?

• 2 yrs after a bachelor's degree.

Is there a club for Pre Physician Assistant?

• If you are interested in learning more or becoming part of the Pre-PA club, you can get information on their website, or you can email them at byuprepa@gmail.com.

Where can I go for more help?

• If you would like to speak with an advisor about the process of becoming a Physician Assistant, anywhere from what classes to take here, to how to apply, you can come into our office anytime, or feel free to set up an appointment with Julie Brinkerhoff by email.

Career Description

Physician assistants (PAs) provide healthcare services under the supervision of physicians. They should not be confused with medical assistants, who perform routine clinical and clerical tasks.

PAs are formally trained to provide diagnostic, therapeutic, and preventive healthcare services, as delegated by a physician. Working as members of the healthcare team, they take medical histories, examine and treat patients, order and interpret laboratory tests and X-rays, make diagnoses, and prescribe medications. They also treat minor injuries by suturing, splinting, and casting. PAs record progress notes, instruct and counsel patients, and order or carry out therapy.

As of May 2007, PAs may prescribe medications in all 50 states. They also may have managerial duties. Some order medical and laboratory supplies and equipment and may supervise technicians and assistants.

Physician assistants work under the supervision of a physician. However, PAs may be the principal care providers in rural or inner city clinics, where a physician is present for only 1 or 2 days each week. In such cases, the PA confers with the supervising physician and other medical professionals as needed or as required by law. PAs also may make house calls or go to hospitals and nursing homes to check on patients and report back to the physician.

Physician Assistant earnings vary from state to state. Starting salary is around $60,000/year; the average salary for 2006 was $85,000/year. The specialty a PA chooses also influences salary a great deal. Although PAs usually work in a comfortable, well-lighted environment, those in surgery often stand for long periods, and others do considerable walking. Schedules vary according to practice setting, and often depend on the hours of the supervising physician. The workweek of PAs in physicians' offices may include weekends, night hours, or early morning hospital rounds to visit patients. These workers also may be on call. PAs in clinics usually work a 40-hour week.

Admission Requirements

Students interested in pursuing a career as a physician assistant may choose any major while at BYU, as long as they also complete the pre-requisite courses for admittance to the school they attend. Although some schools claim that a Bachelors degree is not necessary, virtually all of the accepted applicants have at least a bachelors degree, or certification in another area of the health professions.

Clinical experience is absolutely essential to acceptance into a PA program. Although some schools say they require a minimum of 200 clinical hours, the clinical experience of the most recently accepted PA students actually range between 1000-2000 hours. Paid clinical experience is given preference over volunteer hours.

Physician Assistant programs are often housed in the graduate programs of universities. Because of this, about 80% of the programs require the GRE (Graduate Record Examination). The GRE measures verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, critical thinking, and analytical writing skills that have been acquired over a long period of time and that are not related to any specific field of study. The General Test is offered year-round at computer-based test centers in the U.S., Canada, (and other countries). To find a test location that works for you, go to http://etsis4.ets.org/tcenter/cbt_dm.cfm. More information about the GRE in general can be found at www.ets.org/gre.

Pre-requisite Classes

There are no standardized class requirements for all PA schools. Many schools will require some common classes; however, they often vary on required hours and specialty classes. Be sure to investigate the schools you plan on applying to; make sure you have completed the pre-requisites for each of them.

Listed below are a few of the classes required by many PA programs. Not all of them are required by all schools (ex. Psychology); check schools you are interested in to verify requirements. This can be found by going to the PA Specific Program Information and clicking on the program's website and navigating to their prerequisites.

Application Process

CASPA is the centralized application service for physician assistants. CASPA offers applicants the service of being able to apply to any number of participating PA educational programs by completing a single application. After you complete this one application and send it ( along with other information) to the centralized service, CASPA will verify your application for accuracy, calculate your G.P.A., and send your materials to the physician assistant programs you designate. Once you create an account with CASPA, you can access your application frequently in order to complete the required portions of the application. For more information or to use CASPA, go to https://portal.caspaonline.org/.

Because there are so many PA schools, you will have to be selective about which schools you apply to. Check out the Specific Program Information to investigate the schools available by state; from there, you can research each school individually to see program requirements.

Also, PAEA.org has a directory with helpful information online for $35 dollars, or you can come into our office and look at the directory in a binder entitled Physician Assistant. Please ask us and we will direct you to find it.

Revised March 2008