Physician Assistants- They do it all!

Hi Everyone! Hope everything is going well! Everything here at ACPHS is going well (especially with spring break just a week away!)

As I mentioned in my last blog, I’m beginning my volunteer experience soon (like today). I finally finished all of the paperwork and completed the orientation process. I had the opportunity to choose which areas of the hospital I could work in since they use volunteers in almost every area of the hospital. I decided that I would look into some of the areas of the hospital that I would be interested in working in someday. I’m going to talk to the nurse manager on the Medical/Surgical floor about my responsibilities and get me oriented to that wing of the hospital, but I’m actually starting to work in Labor & Delivery today. I’m soooo excited, but also a little nervous, but I won’t let that stop me. Wish me luck!

On the note of deciding which area of medicine to practice in someday, I started doing some research the other day about Physician Assistants and where they are able to work in today’s health care system. And the answer is pretty much anywhere. They are needed in hospitals, clinics, private practices, colleges, for teaching, in the military, as civilians on bases, in cities, in rural areas, in suburban areas, in forensics, in Europe, in Africa and even in the CIA. They practice in areas that range from family practice to surgery, to pediatrics, to orthopedics, to more specialized areas as well. They have many of the same responsibilities as physicians, including diagnosis, treatment, and mostly direct patient care. The world is my oyster and I can’t wait to venture into it with all of the opportunities that I have.

-Emily