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What bachelor degree do i need for physician assistant? (6 Common Questions Answered)

Discover the Surprising Bachelor Degrees Needed for a Physician Assistant Career – Get Your Answers Here!

In order to become a physician assistant, you will need to obtain a bachelor’s degree in a healthcare-related field. This degree should include prerequisite courses such as anatomy, physiology, and medical terminology. Additionally, you will need to gain healthcare knowledge and develop patient care skills through a graduate level program. You will also need to gain clinical experience and pass a licensing exam in order to become certified. Finally, you will need to develop interpersonal communication skills in order to effectively interact with patients.

Contents

  1. What Medical School Education is Needed to Become a Physician Assistant?
  2. What Prerequisite Courses Should be Taken Before Becoming a Physician Assistant?
  3. How Do I Obtain Professional Certification as a Physician Assistant?
  4. What Healthcare Knowledge Will I Gain As A Physician Assistant?
  5. What Interpersonal Communication Skills Are Necessary To Be An Effective PA?
  6. Common Mistakes And Misconceptions

What Medical School Education is Needed to Become a Physician Assistant?

To become a physician assistant, you will need to complete a Master’s Degree Program in Physician Assistant Studies from an accredited PA program. Pre-medical requirements typically include anatomy and physiology courses, pathophysiology coursework, pharmacology classes, and diagnostic procedures training. During the program, you will also take clinical medicine courses, professional ethics seminars, and patient care skills development. Clinical rotations and clinical practice experiences are also required. After completing the program, you will need to pass the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) licensure exams.


What Prerequisite Courses Should be Taken Before Becoming a Physician Assistant?

In order to become a physician assistant, it is recommended that you take prerequisite courses in anatomy and physiology, chemistry, microbiology, organic chemistry, biochemistry, genetics, psychology, statistics, medical terminology, nutrition physics, pathophysiology, pharmacology, and clinical laboratory science.


How Do I Obtain Professional Certification as a Physician Assistant?

In order to obtain professional certification as a physician assistant, you must first graduate from an accredited physician assistant program. After graduating, you must then pass the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE). Once you have passed the exam, you must maintain certification through continuing medical education. Additionally, you must obtain a state license to practice medicine as a physician assistant and complete supervised clinical experience in primary care and specialty areas. You must also demonstrate knowledge of medical ethics, laws, and regulations, meet professional standards for patient safety and quality care, participate in peer review activities or other quality improvement initiatives, submit to periodic background checks by the NCCPA, comply with all applicable federal and state laws governing healthcare professionals, complete additional training requirements for specific specialties or subspecialties, maintain current CPR certification, adhere to ethical principles outlined by the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA), and keep up-to-date with advances in technology, treatments, medications, etc.


What Healthcare Knowledge Will I Gain As A Physician Assistant?

As a physician assistant, you will gain knowledge in patient assessment, medical terminology, pharmacology, pathophysiology, physical examination skills, clinical laboratory procedures, health promotion and disease prevention strategies, documentation and medical record keeping, professional ethics and legal issues in healthcare delivery, interpersonal communication skills, research methods in healthcare settings, healthcare systems, policies, economics, and regulations, clinical decision-making processes, and emergency care protocols.


What Interpersonal Communication Skills Are Necessary To Be An Effective PA?

To be an effective Physician Assistant, it is important to possess a range of interpersonal communication skills, including respectful interactions, clear communication, conflict resolution, professionalism, patient education, cultural competency, problem-solving skills, nonverbal cues recognition, teamwork ability, negotiation skills, patient advocacy, interpersonal relationships building, empowerment of patients, and compassionate care.


Common Mistakes And Misconceptions

  1. Mistake: A physician assistant only needs a high school diploma.

    Explanation: This is incorrect; in order to become a physician assistant, you must have at least a bachelor’s degree from an accredited program.
  2. Misconception: Any type of bachelor’s degree will qualify for becoming a physician assistant.

    Explanation: While any type of bachelor’s degree may be accepted by some programs, most require that the applicant has completed coursework in biology, chemistry, anatomy and physiology as part of their undergraduate studies. Additionally, many programs also require applicants to have taken courses in psychology or sociology as well as medical terminology and pharmacology before they can apply for admission into the program.