Answers to PA Quiz

 

Question 1:

Physician Assistants are licensed health professionals who practice medicine with physician supervision. As a part of the physician/PA team, PAs exercise autonomy in diagnosing and treating patients.  

Some of the key responsibilities of a PA are to to conduct physical exams, order and interpret diagnostic tests, diagnose and treat illnesses, counsel patients on preventative health care, assist in surgeries, and in most states, write prescriptions.  Back to Quiz

Question 2:

 Physician assistant respondents to the most recent AAPA census work in at least 61 specialty fields. The largest percentage of PAs work in family/general medicine. About 24% of PAs practice in surgery/surgical subspecialties, while 10% work in internal medicine subspecialties. An additional 10% of PAs practice in emergency medicine.

 

Forty-two percent (44%) of physician assistants practice in one of primary care specialties noted below:

 

Family /General practice          30%

General Internal Medicine         8%

General Pediatric Medicine       3%

Obstetrics/Gynecology               3%

 

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Question 3:

 

Dr. Eugene Stead Jr. at Duke University launched the first PA program in 1965. The first graduating class consisted of former military corpsmen to fill the shortage and uneven distribution of primary care physicians across the USA. 

 

Today, students enter PA programs with various types of academic and health care backgrounds.  Back to Quiz

 

Question 4:

 

There are more than 130 accredited Physician Assistant programs in the United States, and 21 programs in New York State. Several international PA programs have been established, e.g., in the Netherlands, Great Britain, and several developing nations including South Africa and Malaysia. The number is predicted to continue to grow.  Back to Quiz

 

Question 5:

 

Forty-nine states, plus the District of Columbia and Guam, now authorize PA prescription writing. This includes New York State. (Indiana is the only exception).  Back to Quiz

 

 

Question 6:

 

Due to the level of instruction provided in PA programs, the fact that most core faculty and basic, behavioral, and clinical science faculty teaching PA students hold a graduate (masters or doctoral) degree and the level of responsibility and autonomy expected to PAs in practice, most programs offer the master's degree or master's degree option. The transition to graduate level education has occurred rapidly over the past 5 years. Prior to that time the bachelor's degree was the predominant degree offered in most PA programs.   Back to Quiz