PA Programs in Texas > TX Physician Assistant Information

Last Updated on October 21, 2021 by admin

How To Become A Physician Assistant In Texas

The first step you need to take towards pursuing a lucrative career as a physician assistant in the state of Texas is to gain your high school diploma or the equivalent, and to have good grades in the most important topics related to medicine – chemistry, biology and math. After that, you can move on and do your research in order to find the Arc-PA approved physician assistant training programs in Texas. Although each university or community college sets its own admission requirements, it is important to complete the pre-requisites and to have at least some basic experience in the health care industry, experience that can be earned by working as a nurse or EMT. After that, you can apply for a Bachelor’s Degree training program where you will be taught courses in quantitative methods, health care ethics, medical terminology, statistics, anatomy, physiology and such.

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If you are not satisfied with an entry-level position after getting your Bachelor’s, then you can always enroll n a Master’s Degree that although may require two additional years of training, will surely pay off eventually. Once again, the Master’s training program must also be accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on the Education of PAs

Physician Assistant In Texas – Job Description

The exact job duties and responsibilities of physician assistants do vary, but generally speaking these health care providers are part of a larger medical team, and they develop professional and collaborative relationships with licensed physicians, in order to provide patients with the best medical care they can receive. These professionals make rounds in hospitals, they can work in private clinics or physician’s offices, they can work in nursing homes and so forth.

Having said that, some of the most important duties of a physician assistant these days include prescribing medications to treat different ailments, ordering laboratory tests, ordering and interpreting x-rays or EKGs, administering injections and immunizations, assisting licensed surgeons and physicians in the operating room, providing pre and post-operative patient care services, counseling the patients and so forth. These professionals usually have more responsibilities than regular nurses, yet they still have to work under the close supervision of a licensed physician, and they should be able to seek input and to take directions from one. Nonetheless, it is important to mention that even though today’s physician assistants work closely with licensed physicians, they still have the ability to make autonomous decisions when working with the patients.

Physician Assistant Certification In Texas

Every physician assistant, not just in Texas but all over the United States of America, must pursue licensure and certification in order to be able to work legally, be it in the private or in the public sector. That being said, in order to receive their certification all PAs must sit for the PANCE examination which is administered by the NCCPA. This is a thorough test that consists of 300 multiple choice questions designed to check your knowledge and your basic skills in the medical field, and it lasts around five hours. At the end of the test, you will receive the PA-C designation if you manage to pass it (Physician Assistant – Certified).

Salary and Career Info

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

There are currently 8 different ARC-PA approved physician assistant training schools in the state of Texas that you can choose from. These schools offer Bachelor’s Degree for PAs, Master’s and even Ph.D degrees for physician assistants who are committed to making the best of their careers. One of these schools is the Baylor College of Medicine located in Houston, followed closely by the University of Texas-Pan American located in Edinburg, both of which are equally reputable in terms of training quality and PANCE pass rate.

Another very trustworthy school that offers accredited physician assistant programs is the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center located in Dallas, Texas, followed by the University of Texas Medical Branch, the University of North Texas Health Science Center as well as the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center which is located in Lubbock, Texas. Regardless of which medical school you opt for or which degree-level program you are interested in, it is an aspect of utmost importance to make sure that the school you are about to attend has been properly reviewed and accredited by the ARC-PA.