Last Updated on December 15, 2023 by admin
How To Become A Physician Assistant In Idaho
The path you need to take towards getting formally educated and pursuing your certification as a physician assistant in Idaho is fairly simple and straightforward, and the thing every future PA must do, in Idaho and in all the other states, is to earn a Bachelor’s Degree in Health Science. There are several such programs available, and they aim to provide thorough medical background knowledge for all those who want to pursue an entry-level career in the medical industry. These programs will include courses in statistics, health care ethics, quantitative methods, medical terminology and a variety of other useful courses that will benefit every physician assistant later on.
Nonetheless, it must be mentioned that although the eligibility requirements for enrolling in a Bachelor’s Degree in Health Science training program are minimal, most of these programs do require their applicants to have at least three years of health care experience in a clinical setting, this is why the majority of the applicants have worked as nurses or as paramedics prior to enrolling in the Bachelor’s Degree program.
The second step one has to take after graduating from the Bachelor’s Degree in Health Sciences training program is for them to earn a Master’s degree in the same field. While the first program typically takes two years to complete, the latter takes two additional years and it is of utmost importance to make sure that the Master’s Degree training program you have opted for is ARC-PA accredited. In a nutshell, this is the Accreditation Review Commission on the Education of Physician Assistants, and it is a reputable institution that thoroughly reviews every physician assistant training school – if it meets the highest standards of formal training, then it will receive its ARC-PA accreditation. That being said, an average Master’s Degree training program for physician assistants in Idaho includes both clinical or laboratory instruction and classroom teaching, in a variety of subjects like pharmacology, clinical medicine, pathology, anatomy, physiology, medical ethics and laws and so forth.
Physician Assistant In Idaho – Career Description
Physician assistants are widely considered as a crucial element in every health care team, and that is perfectly understandable given the fact that physician assistants have a variety of duties and responsibilities to face at their workplace. Having said that, every PA works in collaboration with an experienced, skilled, highly trained and licensed physician, with the purpose of providing patients with medical services of the highest quality. It is not uncommon for physician assistants to assist the licensed surgeon and physician in surgery, to make rounds in public hospitals and private clinics, to perform minor procedures, to diagnose and to treat illnesses as well as to prescribe medications, whenever it is the case.
In other words, it is safe to say that the duty of every physician assistant, both in the state of Idaho and the other states, is to take off some of the burden and the overwhelming work volume most licensed physicians have to deal with these days. Becoming a physician assistant can be a lengthy and demanding process that may require as much as six years for a Bachelor’s and for a Master’s degree in the field. Nonetheless, these professionals are highly skilled and licensed and they provide support to physicians who work in a variety of different specialties, including surgery, emergency, community health centers, the armed forces and many other medical environment that can be very stressful, demanding and even dangerous at times.
Physician Assistant Certification
Every physician assistant who has received all the necessary formal training must pursue the physician assistant certification, and in order for that to be possible they must sit as pass the PANCE examination, or the Physician Assistant National Certification Examination. This must be done only after having graduated from a program that is ARC-PA accredited. The test typically lasts for five to six hours and it consists of no less than three hundred multiple choice questions – it is a computerized test that aims to thoroughly examine your medical skills and your surgical knowledge.
Salary and Career Info
The interactive chart above is a visual representation of the annual salary of Idaho 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 Schools In Idaho
At the time being, there is only one accredited physician assistant training schools in Idaho – it is the Idaho State University located in Pocatello, which offers a Master’s Degree-level training program for future PAs in Idaho.
List of All Accredited PA Programs
The accrediting agency is ARC-PA and they have 1 fully accredited PA program listed as of December 2023.
1. Idaho State University (D)
Initial Accreditation Date: April 1, 1997
Next ARC-PA Review: March 2025
Website: https://www.isu.edu/pa/
