| As health care systems modernize, physician | | | | and microbiology, with an internship after your first |
| assistants (PAs) are playing an increasingly important | | | | summer serving as a bridge to the hands-on skills |
| role in providing expert assistance to doctors. | | | | developed in your second year of the program. By the |
| Becoming a PA is a rigorous, rewarding process that | | | | time of graduating, you will have the necessary skills to |
| will help you developing medical expertise and the skill | | | | earn certification and immediately enter the work |
| set necessary to provide the highest level of medical | | | | force. |
| care to a wide-range of patients. | | | | Carefully research accredited institutions to determine |
| Physician assistants work in varying settings from | | | | a school that fits best with your career plans, and |
| medical clinics to government programs to private | | | | apply through the CASPA application service. You will |
| practice. In order to enter this rapidly growing career | | | | be required to provide recommendations, as well as |
| field, you must first have a bachelor's degree with a | | | | conducting an in-person interview; PA certification |
| strong background in biology. Some schools offer a | | | | programs are as competitive as they are rewarding. |
| BA-PA certification degree, although most PAs earn a | | | | Once you have a degree from a ARC-PA certified |
| science degree followed by a MA-PA master's | | | | program in hand, you must then pass PANCE |
| degree. | | | | (Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam) and |
| Graduate programs will help expand your base of | | | | complete the necessary continuing education |
| scientific knowledge needed for certification, as well as | | | | requirements to continue your PA career. As an |
| earning valuable medical experience. The two-year | | | | important part of a rapidly evolving health care system, |
| master's degree programs begin with a year of | | | | you will be at the cutting edge of modern medicine as |
| developing your expertise in areas such as anatomy | | | | a certified PA. |