A physician assistant is a medical professional that is involved in administering primary care to patients under the supervision of a qualified doctor or a surgeon. Education for a physical assistant position typically consists of a two year graduate degree obtained from one of the top physician assistant schools, and that includes lab work, clinical training and classroom instructions in subjects such as clinical pharmacology, pathology and physical diagnosis.
Currently there are 154 schools that are counted among the top physician assistant schools in the country, which offer programs that start from 21 months in duration and may be as long as three years in duration. During this period, the programs offer intensive training in all subjects related to the discipline. At all top physician assistant schools, the courses covered in the first year include theoretical grounding in subjects such as behavioral sciences, medical sciences, clinical sciences as well as in ethics, even though the actual courses offered may differ from program to program. The second year typically covers clinical rotations that help students to develop their practical skills and gain practical experience in the field. Most of these schools only offer a generalist education, allowing students to develop their career in any field that they choose, some of the top physician assistant schools allow students to specialize in their chosen field, including options to specialize in rural medicine, surgery or even in public health.
When you are looking for the top physician assistant schools in the country, remember to look for those that have been granted accreditation by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA). This is a government agency that is responsible for defining and then enforcing the standards that define educational programs and curriculums for physician assistants. However, accreditation is typically only a factor when you consider entry level programs in the top physician assistant schools. Higher level programs are typically not required to be accredited, but it is helpful if they are.
Another factor that you should look at while you are considering the top physician assistant schools is the curriculum they are offering, so that you study the courses that make the most sense for you. Look carefully at the breadth and depth of the curriculum, the kind of practical experience they offer, the qualifications of the faculty, as well whether they are offering instruction in communication skills and other soft skills, since one cannot be a successful physician’s assistant without these.
The standards for accreditation define the type of courses offered, the depth and breadth of curriculum, the specifics for supervised clinical practice experience in a variety of environments, training in health care delivery systems and policy, and instruction in interpersonal and communication skills. Also find out if these courses include training in such subjects as patient’s reimbursement, documentation, billing, maintenance of records, as well as interpretation of medical literature.
There are quite a number of excellent schools that may be counted as among the top physician assistant schools of the country, that will greatly help you in your training. A few of those are mentioned below:
All these schools that are counted among the top physician assistant schools are considered to very competitive and getting into them is not an easy job. If you wish to apply, you need to be sure that you are willing to put in the time and effort required to succeed.