The Vital Importance Of The Physician Assistant Duties

The physician assistant or PA duties are those of a health care professional, who has been issued a license to practice medicine under the supervision of a licensed doctor. The duties of this individual are many and varied, and no two days are ever the same. However, the duties can vary from state to state, depending upon laws as well as relevant training and experience. As the name implies, they are there to provide assistance, often performing tasks that enable their leader to attend to more urgent requirements.

General duties will be noted in the practice agreement and often include taking a patient's full medical history. Once a complete history has been taken, a comprehensive record needs to be made, including the reason for the latest visit. These records could be in a variety of different formats, although the majority will be computer based.

In a wide number of situations, this person can be called upon to act as a primary care provider. This often includes performing tasks, which would have traditionally been performed by Doctors. One such task could be conducting a complete physical examination. Another could be to diagnose a common illness, along with the formation and implementation of a method of treatment. It could be the giving of vaccines and immunization injections. Assistants could get involved with the treatment of minor injuries such as cuts and sprains, even to suturing wounds and dealing with infection control.

To allow health care facilities to offer a higher quality of care to a patient, at an affordable price, they are permitted to order Laboratory tests. Once the tests have been completed, the analysis and interpretation will also be carried out by them. Should the patient need more in depth treatment, he/ she will then refer the patient to a specialist, a more highly qualified person.

Some patients require counselling due to trauma, and the Doctor's Assistant is there to provide this conversational help. Some people just need someone to listen to their questions about a treatment or a procedure. It could also be to talk about family planning, or a growth and development issue.

This professional is legally permitted to write prescriptions for common medications used in the treatment of normal illnesses and injuries. The writing of prescriptions for controlled medications is prohibited in some states. 39 states have elected to permit Assistants to write and sign prescriptions, without the practice owner acting as a cosignatory.

Dependant on the supervising practice, it is highly likely that this professional could specialize in a particular field. All Assistants are trained in general health care. These fields are wide and varied but directly correspondent to the doctor's practice. Assistants to a surgeon would find themselves highly knowledgeable about surgical techniques.

Due to the constant provision quality health care, the physician assistant duties require them to be an effective team members within a practice. As team members, these individuals help with directly meeting the requirements of patients, in both hospitals and practices. They could check on a patient in a hospital and report back to the doctor with a progress report. Physicians and their Assistants do not have to work at the same location, but the supervising physician must be available by at least telephone if treatment is being carried out.