PA Programs in Illinois > IL Physican Assistant Information

Last Updated on December 15, 2023 by admin

How To Become A Physician Assistant In Illinois

As it happens in all the other 50 states, admission to an accredited PA training program in the state of Illinois can be quite competitive, this is why it is highly recommended to start gathering the pre-requisite courses and to apply in your freshman year. In order to become a PA in Illinois, you have to complete two years of coursework in behavioral science in high schools, and you will also need several additional pre-requisites in fields like biology, anatomy, microbiology, physiology as well as chemistry.

Table of Contents

Moreover, it is highly recommended that all PA applicants have at least some basic health care experience in fields like surgical technology, operating room or general medicine – you should get some experience by being a medical assistant, an emergency medical technician, a certified nursing assistant, a surgical tech or an emergency room technician. Nowadays, most PAs have a Bachelor’s Degree in the field, along with at least 36 months of health care experience before entering the program.

After meeting all these requirements, you can move on to applying for admission to an accredited physician assistant training program, where you will receive a deeper insight into fields like anatomy, microbiology, pathophysiology, pharmacology, biochemistry, physical diagnosis, clinical laboratory experience and other medical fields that will greatly benefit you in the future. In addition to the theoretical training, you will also need to complete no less than 2,000 hours of clinical rotations, especially in long-term care facilities as well as in physician’s offices. These rotations will be in medical fields like psychiatry, emergency medicine, family medicine, pediatrics, general medicine, emergency medicine and such.

Physician Assistant Career Description

As you may know already, physicians assistants are skilled, experienced and highly trained health care providers who work closely with licensed physicians or surgeons, and who conduct physical exams in order to diagnose and to treat patients. In addition to this, physician assistants can work in the local, public or private sector, and they can specialize in any specific area of medicine, be it paediatrics, cardiology, orthopedics, obstetrics or such. These health care professionals can be found in public health care clinics, in hospitals as well as in private practices.

License And Certification Requirements For Physician Assistants In Illinois

If you have decided to pursue a career as a physician assistant in the state of Illinois, then the first thing you need to do after graduating from the accredited PA training program is to take the PANCE examination, which is administered by the NCCPA – if you pass it, you will receive the designation of PA-C. After that, the next step is to obtain a state license, as all PAs require a license to practice in Illinois – after that, it is important to complete 100 hours of continuing medical education once every two years, and then to take the recertification exam every 10 years in order to keep your certification active.

Salary and Career Info

The interactive chart above is a visual representation of the annual salary of Illinois 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 Illinois

There are several accredited physician assistant schools in Illinois in which you can enroll in order to gain both the practical and the theoretical experience that future PAs so much need. Having said that, one of these program is provided by the City College of Chicago – the Malcolm X College, which offers a two-year Associate’s Degree in Applied Science. Another approved physician assistant training program is offered by the Midwestern University in Downers Grove, which has a Master’s Degree in Applied Sciences for those who want to take their careers to the next level, and so does the Northwestern University located in Evanston.

Another very sought-after accredited physician assistant training program is offered by the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, and the Rush University of Chicago also offers an accredited training program for physician assistants that takes 33 months to complete and that will eventually result in a Master’s Degree. In addition to this, if you are an aspiring PA and you want to complete an ARC-PA accredited physician program then you should also consider enrolling in the Southern Illinois University located in Carbondale, where you can get a Master’s Degree in Physician Assistant Studies. The program consists of both a theoretical and a opractical part, the latter including clinical rotations as well as an 8 week perceptorship that takes place at a clinical facility of the students’ choosing.