While we know exactly the role played by a physician, who is a physician assistant (PA)? Is he one who simply assists a physician in his or her clinic? A PA can be defined as one who is licensed to practice medicine under the guidance of a physician. This guidance, in most cases, need not be direct or on site as in the physician's clinic or hospital. It can also be available for a PA who wants to practice in remote areas that are far removed from major towns and cities. PAs can treat patients and, in most states, prescribe medicine. In some states they are authorized to prescribe controlled medications like narcotics or those drugs that can have harmful side-effects if taken without proper analysis or study.

In surgical practices, PAs can also serve as first assists. They provide medical services that are reimbursed under Medicare and third-party insurance. Physician assistants and nurse practitioners both provide similar services, but the latter are referred to as nurses by trade, and their work is often limited to doing only as much as a physician or a surgeon orders them to.

According to records available, the physician assistant profession has its beginnings in the highly trained hospital corpsmen of the Vietnam War period. Dr Eugene Stead from Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina was the first to start a class for PAs in the mid-60s. He felt that it would be necessary to have these assistants in case of a shortage of physicians. To be able to create this group of dedicated people, he chose former Navy corpsmen who received considerable medical training during their military service. The curriculum or the training module was based on his own knowledge of the fast-track training of medical doctors during World War II.

According to a study, almost 56 percent of jobs for PAs were in the offices and clinics of physicians, either allopathic or osteopathic. About 32 percent were in hospitals. The rest were mostly in public health clinics, temporary help agencies, schools, prisons, home healthcare agencies, and other such institutions. The education program consists of classroom and laboratory instruction in the basic medical and behavioral sciences (such as anatomy, pharmacology, path physiology, clinical medicine, and physical diagnosis), followed by direct clinical internships in internal medicine, family medicine, surgery, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, emergency medicine, and geriatric care, among other specialized branches of medicine.

PAs can also pursue additional education in a specialty such as surgery, neonatology, or emergency medicine. Postgraduate programs can be pursued in emergency medicine, surgery,

pediatrics, internal medicine, rural primary care, neonatology, and occupational medicine. Some of the qualities required of physician assistants include leadership skills, self-confidence, and emotional balance at all times. They must also continue studying throughout their career so as to remain updated with the latest medical procedures. With experience, PAs can take on added responsibilities and be assured of higher earnings. However, PAs can never graduate to a level whereby they can become independently practicing physicians.