The Physician - PA Team More than 30 years ago a group of
physicians, looking critically at America’s health care needs,
envisioned a new type of health professional. Their hypothesis
was that physicians could treat more patients, utilize their
time and talents more wisely, and provide better care, if they
worked with assistants who were trained in medicine and
practiced with physician supervision. This idea has grown into
the health profession known as physician assistants (PAs). The
visionaries of the PA role were right. A physician can more
effectively care for patients when working as part of a
physician-PA team. The efficiency of this model has led to its
utilization in all medical and surgical specialties. The
physician-PA team is effective because of the similarities in
physician and PA training, the PA profession’s commitment to
practice with supervision, and the efficiencies created by
utilizing the strengths of each professional in the clinical
practice setting. Physician Assistant Education - Train