A physician assistant-- who is that? : an honors thesis (HONRS 499)

The Physician Assistant field is a very competitive career, that is not completely understood by the general public. The purpose of this thesis is two-fold. First, I hope to educate the consumer on the qualifications physician assistants have in treating common health problems. Secondly, I would like to give advice on how interested students can go about entering this health profession, from my own personal experiences attempting to enter this field. This thesis gives a history of the PA profession, describes the duties that PAs are trained to perform, explains the training process, and includes various studies that prove that PAs are a high quality alternative to the shortage of health care workers found in the medical field.