Michael Coyle researched two potential career paths: physician assistant and anesthesiologist assistant. Physician assistants can practice in many medical specialties under physician supervision, with surgical PAs assisting in operations. Anesthesiologist assistants work as part of an anesthesia care team under an anesthesiologist. Both require similar education lengths but PAs have more flexibility in specialty choice. Currently, Michael is leaning toward becoming a surgical PA.
2. Introduction
• As a pre-professional Health Sciences-student, there are
many career options available to pursue
• Many of these career options require extra schooling after
undergraduate coursework
• Research was done on the 2 potential careers that I have
found the most interest in
4. Physician Assistant (P.A.)
• A Physician Assistant is a nationally certified and state-licensed
medical professional who practices medicine on healthcare teams
under physicians. They can practice and prescribe medication in
every state in the country.
• Being a PA offers flexibility to practice in many different areas of
medicine without additional education and training
• Their specific duties depend on their specialty, and if I choose this
path I would want to be a Surgical PA, who would assist on teams
under a supervising surgeon
• Surgical PA’s perform about 80% of tasks that their supervising
surgeons do, typically handling routine problems and procedures to
allow the surgeon to concentrate on the more complex patients
• PA programs are usually about 3 academic years and require the
same prerequisite coursework as medical schools
• PA’s must obtain a license from the state in which they are practicing
and also pass a national certification exam
5. What can they do?
• Take your medical history
• Conduct physical exams
• Diagnose and treat illnesses
• Order and interpret tests
• Develop treatment plans
• Counsel on preventive care
• Assist in surgery
• Write prescriptions
• Make rounds in hospitals and nursing homes
6. History of the PA Profession
• In the mid-1960’s, many physicians recognized there was
a shortage of primary care physicians, so the PA was
created to improve and expand healthcare
• The first PA class graduated from the Duke University PA
Program, created by Dr. Eugene A. Stead Jr., in October
of 1967
• The American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA)
was established in North Carolina in 1968
• In 1973, a joint national headquarters was established in
Washington, D.C. for AAPA and the Association of
Physician Assistant Programs
• The headquarters is now located in Old Town Alexandria,
Virginia
7. Growth Potential and Salary
• The Bureau of Labor Statistics is projecting a 30% job
growth rate for Physician Assistant’s through 2020
• The average starting salary is 90,000
• For Surgical PA’s, the salary ranges from $73,000 to
$126,000, with the median salary about $101,000
• PA’s receive great benefits and often receive bonuses
8. PA School
• MUSC has a great program that I am interested in
• They accept applications between July 1st and September 15th, with
accepted applicants starting the program in May
• I will have taken all of the required 91 hours of prerequisite
coursework after the fall semester
• They require a minimum 3.0 GPA based on Prerequisite GPA,
Cumulative GPA, and Science-Math GPA
• They encourage applicants to aim for a 50th percentile score or higher
in each section of the GRE to ensure they will be competitive
• Must have 3 reference letters, with one of them being a PA or
physician
• There is no minimum number of hours of hands-on patient care
experience required for admittance, but successful applicants
average 500 hours of patient care experience prior to admittance
• The tuition here is about $8,000 per semester
9. Being a Physician Assistant
• There are many reasons why I believe I would be a good
PA:
• I work well with a team, but I also enjoy working independently, and
both are important to being a PA, as strong problem-solving skills
are essential
• This profession requires a lot of hard work and to be detail oriented,
and I am able to provide that
• I also believe I have the strong interpersonal skills necessary to
connect and work with different kinds of patients well
• This job has many duties and can have you doing one thing after
another, and I believe I have the adaptability to shift my focus from
one task to another
10. Anesthesiologist Assistant (A.A.)
• Anesthesiologist Assistants are masters level non-
physician anesthetists with a premed undergraduate
coursework background
• AA’s stress the team approach to patient care, practicing
within the Anesthesia Care Team under the direction of an
Anesthesiologist
• AA programs are between 24 and 28 months long
• Certification is awarded to an individual who successfully
completes the Certifying Examination for Anesthesiologist
Assistants
11. What do they do?
• Take your medical history
• Conduct physical exams
• Administer necessary diagnostic and laboratory tests
• Preparing the patient to be monitored, using noninvasive
and invasive methods, as determined by the physician
• Assisting with preparatory procedures
• Inducing, sustaining, and adjusting anesthesia levels
• Ensuring continuity of care through the postoperative
recovery period
12. History of the AA Profession
• In the 1960s, 3 anesthesiologists, Joachim S.
Gravenstein, John E. Steinhaus, and Perry P. Volpitto,
were concerned with the limited number of
anesthesiologists in the country
• They believed the problem would be solved by
implementing team care and to define a new mid-level
anesthesia practitioner linked to a supervising
anesthesiologist
• The first AA training programs at Emory University and
Case Western Reserve University began accepting
students in 1969
13. Growth Potential and Salary
• The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates job growth to be
38% in this field through 2022
• The starting salary is typically $110,000
• Credentialing and experience can allow an AA to earn up
to $180,000 annually
14. AA School
• There are 10 accredited programs in the country, and the
school I am most interested in is South University They accept
applicants from July 1st to February 1st, with decisions finalized
in May
• Minimum of a 3.0 GPA
• Applicants can take either the GRE or MCAT, with scores
above the 55th percentile range on the GRE or a score above
25 on the MCAT being competitive
• A minimum of 8 hours shadowing an anesthesia practitioner is
required
• The only prerequisite course I sill need to take to meet the
requirements is Biochemistry
• Tuition here is about $9,000 per term
• There are other schools I have researched and am interested
in, but South University tops the list
15. Being an Anesthesiologist Assistant
• I believe I have many qualities that are found in AA’s:
• I work well with a team and I am good at following directions
• An AA must be able to deal with all different kinds of patients, which
I am capable of
• I have the skills and steady hands necessary to operate the
different instruments used
• Patience is needed as some surgeries could take awhile, and I
have the patience necessary for the profession
16. Conclusion
• Both of these careers would be great choices
• They both require about the same amount of schooling,
and have similar educational programs
• PA’s can work with many different healthcare teams, while
AA’s are limited to working under an Anesthesiologist
• For that reason, right now I am leaning more towards a
career as a PA because I can potentially work in many
different fields of medicine
• Right now, the specialty I would choose is a Surgical PA
