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PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT DISCIPLINE INFORMATION SUMMARY
Definition Health care professional licensed to practice medical care with physician supervision.
Philosophy/ModelMedical/physician model, disease centered, with emphasis on the biological/pathologic aspects of health, assessment, diagnosis, treatment. Practice model is a team approach relationship with physicians.
EducationAffiliated with Medical schools. Previous health care experience required – two years experience is the average. 80% of students have a bachelor’s degree prior to entering a PA program. Most PA programs are master’s degree conferring. Program curriculum is advanced science based and provides approximately 1000 didactic and over 2000 clinical training hours. All PAs are trained as generalists - a primary care model. Some receive post-graduate fellowship training – common post-graduate programs include surgery, emergency medicine and pediatrics. Education is procedure and skill oriented with emphasis on diagnosis, treatment, surgical skills, and patient education.
Certification/Licensure Separate accreditation and certification bodies require successful completion of an accredited PA program and NCCPA national certification exam. The NCCPA (National Commission on Certification of the Physicians Assistant) is the only certification body. Wisconsin state licensure requires graduation from an accredited PA program and national certification. All PAs are licensed by their State Medical Examining Boards and Medical Practice Act provisions. In Wisconsin, that is “Chapter Med 8.”
RecertificationRecertification requires 100 hours of formal continuing medical education (CME) every 2 years and an exam every 6 years.
Scope of Practice and Supervision The supervising physician has relatively broad discretion in delegating medical tasks within his/her scope of practice to the PA in accordance with state regulations. Annually reviewed written guidelines are required for prescriptions. On-site physician supervision is not required. A supervising physician must be available to his/her PA within fifteen minutes by any means of communication. Physician co-signature on a patient record is required within 72 hours for patients in which prescriptions are written. The co-signature timeline is extended to seven days for PAs working in federally qualified rural health clinics. (Chapter Med 8 in WI Administrative Code)
Third Party Coverage and ReimbursementPAs are eligible for certification as Medicaid and Medicare providers, and generally receive favorable reimbursement from commercial payers.
Salary/CompensationThe average salary nationally for PAs in all specialties in 2004 was $78,257. The average salary for new graduates was $65,641. These figures for Wisconsin are $77,596 and $68,553 respectively.
Compensation packages usually include the following benefits (2004 averages): continuing medical education funds of $1900 (Wisconsin), $1600 (nationally); 5 days CME; 14 days vacation; medical liability insurance as a rider on the supervising physician or corporate policy; health insurance; and retirement plan.
ReferencesSummary prepared by the University of Wisconsin-Madison PA Program. For further information, please contact UW-Madison PA Program Director Jeff Nicholson at 263-5620 or jgnichol@wisc.edu |