Physician Assistant Programs In Kansas

Last Updated on October 21, 2021 by admin

How To Become A Physician Assistant In Kansas?

Physician assistants are registered, certified and licensed health care professionals who are a very important part of the medical team, and who work under the direct supervision of a licensed health care provider, such as a doctor/physician or a surgeon. The steps one needs to take in order to become a licensed and certified physician assistant in the state of Kansas are the same that apply to any other state.

Having said that, applicants who want to pursue an Associate’s or a Bachelor’s Degree are highly advised to get plenty of medical experience and to complete some relevant pre-requisite courses in high school, as this can significantly increase their chances of being accepted into the training program. When it comes to medical experience, you can work as an EMT, a surgical technician or assistant, a nursing assistant or a trainer, as this will help you get all the necessary hands-on experience.

After meeting all the eligibility requirements for being accepted into an accredited and approved physician assistant training program, the next step is to pursue your Bachelor’s Degree in the Health Science, which can take up to four years, depending on the training institution, and involves courses in English, math, anatomy, biology, pathology, microbiology, physiology and others. It is also important to get some good recommendations before even applying to the accredited PA training program, preferably from a licensed doctor or from another physician assistant, as this can significantly increase your chances of having your application approved. A personal statement is also required, in most cases.

Physician Assistant In Kansas – Career Description, Duties And Responsibilities

Although the duties and responsibilities of physician assistants are virtually the same all over the United States of America, there are some slight variations from one working environment to another. Having said that, the primary duty of every licensed and certified physician assistant is to contribute to the effectiveness of the physician or doctor, and to provide both short-term and long-term medical services of the highest quality. It is also the responsibility of every signle physician assistant to implement the directives instructed by the licensed doctor or physician, as well as to interview patients and to assess their overall health by performing thorough physical examinations. These health care professionals must also update and study the patient’s medical history records, as well as to make sure that their files are up to date.

Moreover, the physician assistant has a variety of other medical-related duties, such as determining any health related abnormalities by performing a variety of scans and laboratory tests such as x-rays or electrocardiograms, and then interpreting the results. In addition to this, PAs can also perform or recommend various therapeutic procedures, they can administer regular immunizations and injections, they can suture wounds and manage infections, and so forth. The physician assistants may also counsel and instruct patients by describing their therapeutic regimens and providing them with basic medical information.

Licensure, Certification and Continuing Education Information For Physician Assistants In Kansas

Just like a physician or a doctor, physician assistants are required to pursue a certification and a licensure in all the 50 states of the United States of America, and the requirements are basically the same: the physician assistant must have graduated from a previously reviewed and accredited PA training program in order to be eligible for the PANCE examination, or the Physician Assistant Certification examination, which is administered by the NCCPA, also known as National Commission on Certification of the PAs. Through the PANCE examination, the surgical and the medical skills and overall knowledge of the PA will be thoroughly tested, and only after that they will be awarded a certification or a license, along with the credential of PA-C, or Physician Assistant-Certified. Even after being awarded that designation, the certified physician assistant will still have to undergo continuing education courses in order to renew his or her licensure and certification.

Salary and Career Info

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

At the time being, there are two accredited physician assistant schools in the state of Kansas, that offer high-quality PA training programs and that can result in either an Associate’s or a Master’s Degree in Health Science. Having said that, one of these accredited institutions of higher learning is the Seward County Community College and Area Technical School, followed by the Wichita State University located in Wichita, Kansas.

List of All Accredited PA Programs

The accrediting agency is ARC-PA and they have 1 fully accredited AL programs listed as of November 2014.

1. Wichita State University

Initial Accreditation Date: November 1, 1973

Next ARC-PA Review: March 2018

Website: http://www.wichita.edu/thisis/home/?u=pa