PA Programs in New York > NY Physician Assistant Information

Last Updated on November 18, 2021 by admin

How To Become A Physician Assistant In New York

If you have decided to pursue a blossoming career as a physician assistant in New York, then you have already taken the first and most decisive step in your career, as New York is known to be amongst the highest paying states for health care professionals, including physician assistants. That being said, it is important to complete your formal education requirements before you can qualify for a physician assistant training program that is accredited by ARC-PA, which means that you will need to graduate from high school with a good GPA, and to have taken some in-depth courses in physics, math, biology and chemistry. Also, some degree of practical experience is required as well – most those who apply for an Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree training program that is accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on the Education of PAs already have some experience in the health care system, experience that they have achieved by working as emergency medical technicians, nurses and such.

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The second step after being accepted to the PA training program is to complete this accredited training program – depending on the type of degree you are aiming for, you should expect to complete the entry-level training within three to four years, and then it is highly recommended to opt for a Master’s degree as well, the latter usually lasts for 24 extra months and will significantly increase your chances of pursuing a lucrative career in the field.

The curriculum may vary slightly from one institution of higher learning to another, but generally you should expect course topics in diagnostics, pharmacology, anatomy, physiology, patient assessment and so forth. After completing your formal training and getting all your degrees, you must become certified and licensed and then, if you want, you can consider becoming a specialist and getting your Certificate of Added Qualifications, in one of the many different medical specialties, ranging from urology, paediatrics and surgery to internal medicine and even emergency care. In order for that to happen, you should enroll in a one-year residency program or post-graduate program where you will gain additional insight into the chosen medical field.

Physician Assistant In New York – Job Description

The job description of physician assistants is virtually the same in all states: in a nutshell, these are authorized health care practitioners who can perform diagnostic and therapeutic tasks that are delegated to them by a licensed and certified physician, who carefully oversees the medical activity of the physician assistants. These professionals are excluded from responsibility for major surgeries, they can prescribe medications and put diagnoses in most states, and they can also educate both the patients and their families on different ailments and conditions, and how they can efficiently manage them in the long run. Physician assistants are often required to treat most of the primary care illnesses on their own, as this does not require supervision by their collaborative physician partner – they can deal with various uncomplicated medical tasks, such as family planning, depression, allergies, bronchitis, hypertension, strains, sprains and such.

Certification

As mentioned above, all physician assistants must pursue their certification as soon as they graduate from an ARC-PA approved physician assistant training program, in order to be able to work legally in the US. For that to happen, physician assistants must firstly sit for the PANCE examination, which consists of three hundred multiple choice questions. This computerized exam thoroughly examines the medical skills and knowledge of each physician assistant student. After passing the exam administered by the NCCPA, physician assistants can apply for licensure, and then they will need to maintain their PA-Certified credential by earning no less than 100 approved CME credits once every two years, and by passing the PANRE recertification examination for physician assistants once every six years.

Salary and Career Info

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

New York is a generous state when it comes to physician assistant training programs, as there are no less than 19 approved physician assistants schools in this state that offer different degrees, ranging all the way from Physician Assistant Certificate and Bachelor’s Degrees in PA to Master’s degree-level training programs for these health care professionals.

That being said, some of the most reputable physician assistant training program in the state of New York are the Albany Medical College in Albany, the Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, the CUNY City College, the Daemen College, the D’Youville College, the Le Moyne College, the Hofstra University in Hempstead, the Long Island University in Brooklyn, the New York Institute of Technology, the Mercy College, the Pace University of New York and many others.