PA Programs in Georgia > GA Physican Assistant Information

Last Updated on December 15, 2023 by admin

How To Become A Physician Assistant In Georgia

If you have decided to become a physician assistant in Georgia, then the good news is that you have many training and education opportunities at your disposal, as Georgia has several accredited PA training programs that you can opt for. That being said, you can choose physician assistant programs available at an associate’s, a bachelor’s or a master’s degree level, the latter being particularly popular these days and they are the most sought-after path for mandatory PA licensure in Georgia.

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The admission requirements vary depending on several factors, such as the degree level that you plan to pursue, the type of institution that offers the PA training program and such: taking the Associate’s degree training level as an example, if you want to qualify then you must have not only a high school diploma and some basic health care experience in order to even be considered for admission, but you must also have a strong grasp of both sciences and math.

On the other hand, if you aim for a Bachelor’s degree training program then in addition to the requirements described earlier, you will also need to have as much as 300 hours of health care experience. Both the graduate and the undergraduate PA training programs include some didactic coursework in microbiology, pharmacology, anatomy and a variety of other similar subjects, and a very important part of the curriculum is also the clinical rotation that all students must deal with, towards the end of the training period (the clinical rotations are usually done in the last year of training).

For instance, if you have decided to pursue an Associate’s of Science degree in PA studies in Georgia, then you should know that the regular course load throughout the two years of study include classes in physical diagnosis, pathophysiology, human anatomy, microbiology, pharmacology as well as biochemistry.

The Bachelor’s of Science in PA studies degree, on the other hand, lasts between 26 and 36 months of training and while the first year of training emphasizes primarily on classroom theoretical teaching, the last one to two years will consist mainly of clinical rotations. The course load for Bachelor’s of Science degree is slightly more complex than the course load of Associate’s of Science degrees, and it includes classes in biology, human anatomy and physiology, pathophysiology, advanced clinical procedures and so on and so forth.

Physician Assistant In Georgia – Job Description, Duties And Responsibilities

A physician assistant, commonly known as a PA, is a nationally certified as well as a state licensed medical professional who is a critical part of the health care team, and who works closely with doctors and under the close supervision of licensed and certified physicians.These professionals can practice and prescribe therapies and medications in all the 50 states of the United States of America, including the District of Columbia.

The duties of a PA vary depending on the work environment, but generally speaking, physician assistants in Georgia will take your medical history, will assist licensed physicians during surgical procedures and other medical interventions, they can diagnose and efficiently treat common illnesses, they can conduct thorough physical exams, they can develop tailored treatment plans depending on the ailment of each patient, they can write medical prescriptions and they can also offer patient counseling services on preventive care. Moreover, it is not uncommon for physician assistants in the state of Georgia to also make rounds in nursing homes and hospitals.

Physician assistants in Georgia work in a wide variety of settings, from hospitals and physician offices to rural and urban community health centers, industrial and commercial settings, retail clinics, nursing houses, university and school-based medical facilities, correctional institutions such as prisons and so on.

Certification For Physician Assistants In Georgia

Becoming a PA in the state of Georgia requires passing the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam, which is a multiple choice computer-based test that comprises questions designed to assess both the surgical and the medical knowledge of the applicants. In order to be eligible for the PANCE exam, applicants must graduate from an accredited physician assistant training program.

Salary and Career Info

The interactive chart above is a visual representation of the annual salary of Georgia PA’s compared to the national annual salaries, all based on the latest May 2022 Occupational Employment Statistics figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Physician Assistant Programs In Georgia

At the time being, there are six notable training institutions that offer physician assistant programs in Georgia: among them are the South University in Savannah, the Emory University located in Atlanta, the Augusta University which can be found in Augusta, as well as the Mercer University in Macon, Georgia.