Last Updated on October 21, 2021 by admin
How To Become A Physician Assistant In Minnesota
If you have decided to pursue a career in the medical field, then you should know that physician assistants are currently very sought-after in the state of Minnesota, both in the public and in the private sector. Simply put, the physician assistant – commonly referred to as a PA – is a certified, licensed as well as registered health care provider who works side by side with a licensed surgeon or doctor who supervises his or her activity. There are several specific steps that every future physician assistant needs to take in order to become formally trained and to be eligible for at least an entry-level position in the health care environment, and the first one is to get in-depth training in math, chemistry and biology in high school.
These are important pre-requisites that will come in handy throughout your career as a physician assistant, as well as throughout your five years of study. Although a four-year Bachelor’s Degree is often enough for an entry-level position in the medical industry, most physician assistants these days opt for an additional Master’s Degree in the Science of Health, as it will guarantee them a lucrative career, a more stable job as well as a more financially rewarding position, in the long haul.
Although the exact admission requirements do vary greatly from one training institution to another, it is important for these health care providers to get plenty of medical experience in order to broaden their medical skills and knowledge. It is highly recommended for students who want to become physician assistants to get at least two years of practical hands-on experience in the patient care field before they graduate from the ARC-PA training program, as this will significantly increase their chances of getting a job in the field. It often happens that students who want to become physician assistants work as athletic trainers, emergency medical technicians, military medics, physical therapy technicians, surgical technologists or assistants and so forth – not only will this allow them to gain the practical experience they so much need, but it will also help the make some money.
Physician Assistant In Minnesota – Career Description
If you have decided to pursue a career as a physician assistant in Minnesota, then it is highly recommended to become familiar with the aspects of this job before you even move on to applying for a physician. Having said that, physician assistants have almost the same duty as medical doctors – these health care professionals are more clinically advanced and more formally educated than nurses or medical assistants, and they also happen to have higher authority in the medical environment.
As a matter of fact, it often happens that physician assistants are allowed to prescribe medications and treatments to patients in most states. Often referred to as physician extenders, physician assistants perform a variety of other medical and administrative tasks – they perform medical examinations on the patients, they diagnose illnesses and conditions, they order and interpret tests, they take the patient’s medical history and update the patient files and so forth.
Certification Options For Physician Assistants
Every student who wants to pursue a career as a physician assistant must gain the designation of PA-C, or Physician Assistant-Certified, in order to be allowed to work legally in any of the 50 states. In order for that to happen, the students must firstly graduate from an ARC-PA approved physician assistant training program, and then they must sit for the PANCE examination which is administered by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants. This particular certification exam is required in all states, and the content of the exam is covered in what is known as the “PANCE Blueprint”. Every physician assistant must also log 100 CME hours, or Continuing Medical Education hours, and then re-register his or her certificate every decade.
Salary and Career Info
The interactive chart above is a visual representation of the annual salary of Minnesota 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 Minnesota
There are several reputable and trustworthy physician assistant programs in Minnesota where you can get all the theoretical and the practical training that you so much need in order to work in the health care environment later on, and one of these programs is offered by the Augsburg College located in Minneapolis, which also happens to be the only one that is ARC-PA accredited. The Augsburg College required the TOEFL examination for non-native English speakers who want to apply for the PA training program here. The Bethel University also offers a Master’s Degree in Physician Assistant Studies, and so does the Saint Catherine University.
List of All 3 Accredited PA Programs
The accrediting agency is ARC-PA and they have 3 fully accredited AL programs listed as of November 2014.
1. Saint Catherine University (Provisional)
Initial Accreditation Date: March 6, 2012
Next ARC-PA Review: September 2015
Website: https://www2.stkate.edu/mpas/home
2. Augsburg College
Initial Accreditation Date: October 1, 1996
Next ARC-PA Review: September 2018
Website: http://www.augsburg.edu/pa/
3. Bethel University (Provisional)
Initial Accreditation Date: March 9, 2013
Next ARC-PA Review: March 2015
Website: http://gs.bethel.edu/academics/masters/physician-assistant/
