{"id":16719,"date":"2025-05-27T12:03:58","date_gmt":"2025-05-27T16:03:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/prehealth\/?page_id=16719"},"modified":"2025-06-26T12:56:19","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T16:56:19","slug":"physician-assistant-pa","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/prehealth\/physician-assistant-pa\/","title":{"rendered":"Physician Assistant (PA)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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What does a Physician Assistant (PA) do?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Physician Assistants (PAs) are medical providers, most with graduate-level education. They are licensed to diagnose and treat illness and disease and to provide medication for patients. PAs work in physician offices, hospitals, and clinics in collaboration with a licensed physician. Because of their advanced education in general medicine, modeled after physician education, PAs can treat patients with significant autonomy within the physician\/PA relationship – PAEA<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Physician Assistants, among other things, get the opportunity to take medical histories and perform physical exams, order and interpret laboratory tests, assist in surgery and set fractures, and counsel patients.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Complete our Handshake survey to be added to our newsletter and Brightspace resource page, Pre-Health Connect.<\/p><\/div><\/div>

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Choosing This Field<\/strong>
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When figuring out if this profession is right for you, make sure to look at various resources to inform you about physician assistant career paths, engage in self reflection regularly, and seek out relevant clinical and service experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To explore what your career could be in this field and what the right fit is for you, visit the following resources: <\/p>\n\n\n\n