Future Physician Assistant

Events of the past, present, and future have always interested me. Studying the information on the history and progression of the physician assistant profession has been no exception. The history of the physician assistant occupation denotes the importance of its position in healthcare. Prior to the first formal education received by future physician assistants in 1965-1967, by Eugene A Stead, Jr., Dr. Amos Johnson and his proprietary trained assistant Henry Treadwell, became a model for Stead’s first class of PA students. The Johnson/Treadwell model represented, present, on the job training for non-physician personnel to assist physicians in practice. The concept enticed Stead to develop the first class of the PAs. Stead saw the need for …show more content…
The physician assistant’s interdependence on a licensed practicing physician allows both of the professionals to practice more independently from each other yet recognize that each has a responsibility to the other. Today, physician assistants function in roles unimagined in the 1960s and 1970s. However, one thing remains the same, the PA and the physician are in a partnership and part of a team, whereby the physician assistant’s role and responsibilities remain contingent upon the expectations of the practicing physician and the scope of his practice.1(8) Also, the history of the profession and the development of the program have shaped the role of the physician assistant in that it recognized that much of what physicians do on a daily basis is routine. Therefore, it conceded that with a well-educated and well-trained non-physician provider there are very little limitations to what a physician assistant can practice. With continued respect for physician assistants they have been allowed to do what physicians do, and they practice what physicians practice. …show more content…
Though no one can predict the future, it is safe to presume that the profession will continue to grow as it has shown notable continued growth from its introduction in 1967, when the first physician assistant professionals entered the work force. Learning the history of the physician assistant profession should remain a part of the teachings of the student in the specialized school because it helps one to appreciate the professional position it had in healthcare at the on start and the position is plays now. The founding fathers, like all physician assistants, can take pride in knowing that the purpose for instituting the physician assistant profession continues over 50 years later with very little change to its