Future Physician Assistant

Superior Essays
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 assistance primary care physicians had in caring for the sick. Other noted medical physicians and professionals Charles Hudson, Richard Smith, John Kirklin, and HuMyers, all contributed to the development of the PA programs across America in the 1960s. These professionals saw the importance and the opportunity to help physicians care for their patients by providing them with people who had been trained in basic medical science. The present day approach to educating future PAs remains much in part to the first approach to educating future PAs in the 1960s. 1 Obviously, the history of the physician assistant profession was a creative solution to a problem. With over 105,000 certified physician assistants and more than 90,000 employed assistants to date, it is evident that there remains a need for such a position in the healthcare system. 1(1) Today, the history of the profession and its original focus, to assist in caring for patients, remains the number one goal of such professionals. The history of the profession shaped the role of the physician assistant in that it set the stage for PAs and physicians to work “interdependent” of each other.1(8) Though each professional is responsible for his or her own actions, the interdependence between the two professionals is a reassuring way of delivering the best medical care possible to the patient. …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. 1(8) The physician assistant profession has changed in many ways in the last 50 years. The profession was first designed to have PAs employed in primary care settings under the direction of primary care physicians. Once, observed that the trained PA was capable of doing more than routine tasks, the profession began to question its scope and sequence and many changes were made to the profession. For one, there has been an increase in PAs specializing in respected fields of medicine. 1 Additionally, physician assistants are becoming increasing accepted by other professionals, medical or the like, and by the public, particularly patients. Much of this is due …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

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