Becoming A Physician Assistant

Career and College Research Paper
The career I am looking to become is a Physician’s Assistant. Physician Assistants (PA) practice medicine with physicians and surgeons. PA’s treat and examine patients, and work in all areas of medicine including: family care, primary care, emergency medicine, etc. I chose this career because in everyday life I work hard to put others before myself, I strive to assist others in time of need and always have enjoyed being able to help someone with small injuries, cuts, and infections. It is important to understand the education and training requirements, skills or talents needed, salary and benefits offered, and the duties for a particular career when making this decision.
Physician Assistants work in hospitals,
although some PA’s work in an office or are home care nurses. “Physician Assistant’s work full time with a possibility of working nights, weekends, or even holidays.” (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). When on call PA’s must be ready to work with little notice. Locations vary for physician assistants. PA’s could work in a urban, suburban, worldwide and even local areas depending on which location is selected.
Physicians Assistants fulfill many roles during their daily routine. Their duties change throughout the day with each individual patient. Daily routines and duties for a PA include, reviewing patients medical history, examining patients, giving treatments, diagnosing an injury, prescribing medicine, recording the patient's progress, and taking x-rays and blood tests. Other important duties include, researching the newest treatments used for patient care, elucidating questions for the patient and their family, participating in outreach programs, and holding group discussions about promoting wellness, as well as managing and treating diseases.
“The annual wage for a Physician Assistant in 2015 was around $98,180.” (Explore Health Careers). Initial pay for the lowest ten percent averages about $62,760. The highest ten percent and workers with experience made up to an immense number of $139,540 per year. (U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics), reported that “Treating Practitioners only made on average about $76,760 annually.”
The current unemployment rate for Physician Assistant’s is about 0.2% with around 28,700 jobs increasing in number everyday. (U.S News scoreboard) gave Physician Assistants an overall score of 7.8 for all of the following: salary, job market, future growth, stress, and work/life balance in 2015. The demand in health care services are increasing. (Best Health Care Jobs), ranked being a Physician’s Assistant #4. Employment for Physician Assistants will grow about 30% between now and 2024. Oklahoma’s salary working as a Physician Assistant is about $96,810 per year. In Florida, PA’s make about $95,136 per year. In Texas, the yearly pay for a PA is about $91,424.
Besides education, there may be other requirements for becoming a Physician Assistant.
Personality traits I possess which could help with becoming a PA include, compassion, confidence, honesty, intelligence, and also the ability to be open minded. Character traits which could be useful that I possess include many diverse categories such as, being organized, able to work well independently, alacrity, detail oriented, hard working, and also being emotionally stable. Life experiences that could be helpful with this career are some of the things I do now, such as, giving shots (only to animals), working with blood, caring for cuts and infections, and helping others figure out the type of medicine they should take for the symptoms they
have.
A great school that is known for their medical training is Oklahoma University (OU). OU is located in Norman, OK. After calculating room, tuition, books, and all other fees, it will cost an approximated total of $20,546 to attend OU. In financial aid around 37% who applied received it with an average amount of $5,746 per recipient.
There are many different classes, programs, and requirements for my major.
I will be majoring in Human Body Sciences earning my Bachelor of Science (B.S.) and then extending my education and going for my masters. Science courses and non science courses are both required and necessary for my major and career. Science courses I will take can include: Anatomy, Genetics, Organic Chemistry, Physics, Physiology, Bacteriology and Biochemistry. Non Science courses I will take can include: Calculus, English Composition, College Algebra One, Humanities, Medical Terminology, Psychology, Literature, Sociology and Technical Writing. It is very likely that it will take a total of eight years to become a Physician’s Assistant after high school. A very tedious career to pursue, but will be worth it in the end. To earn my bachelors it will take at least four years. Earning my masters with take another two years. Once I have completed my masters I must get into a Physician Assistant's program for two more years of
study.
“Entrance requirements to get into Oklahoma University include, GPA, ACT or the SAT.” (College Simply OU Overview). The minimum ACT score OU will accept is a 20. The minimum SAT score OU will accept is 1130 for the average high school graduate. Normally, B+ students are accepted, but OU wants students with a GPA at a 3.59 or higher. There are no specific high school courses needed to get into OU or even a PA program.
This school year, I need to stay focused and keep my grades up, and continue my research in this career. I have set personal goals to try and finish getting my bachelor's degree early so that I can begin my career earlier. I plan to reach these goals a day at a time with help from family and friends and also encouragement from those who want to see me succeed in a career field that serves purpose to not only me but everyone else too.
By the time I graduate in 2018, I need to accomplish different studies towards becoming a Physician's Assistant. Personally I will need to accomplish getting over the fear of being wrong and not knowing how to handle it. I need to research different PA programs, what they require and which program I want to attend. I will continue to study and stay focused in class. I will also ask questions and for extra help when it is needed to help keep my grades up and also help keep me academically involved.