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Physician Assistant Essay

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In December 1970, the American Medical Association adopted the following definition for Physician Assistants: “The Physician Assistant [(PA)] is a skilled person qualified by academic and practical training to provide patient services under the supervision and direction of a licensed physician who is responsible for the performance of that physician assistant.” (NY Department of Health). Laws and regulations for the PA profession have been developing over time based on the needs of the society; however, the need for a supervising physician found its way in the definition of the PA early on. Since PAs have been playing an important role in patient’s life, it is not surprising that they needed the supervision of a physician. After all it was a new profession, therefore it needed time to show if it is fulfilling the initial goals of the profession or not. Unfortunately, while the profession celebrated …show more content…

Although PAs are fully trained through meticulous master degree programs, have at least 2000 hours of patient care experience, and they must pass the national licensing exam; they are yet to be used in the health care system to the fullest of their potential because they are bound to regulations that limit their availabilities in areas that they can help. One such area, is to perform as volunteers and provide care to those in need with no access to healthcare services, such as homeless and un-insured communities. According to CNN, the uninsured population rose to 12.2% last year, which is more than 39 million of the USA’s population. The number of homeless people grew by 23% in LA county in 2017 (AAPA). Also, according to a December 2017 report by NY Times, homeless population death has doubled in the Santa Clara County since 2011, many died due to a Hepatitis A outbreak and old age without any medical care provided to

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