THE ROLE OF A PA

PAs and physicians work together with other health care providers in unique partnership. Although the PA works with the physician’s super-vision, the physician need not be present when the PA is seeing patients. The physician can delegate tasks to the PA, based on the PA’s experience, education, and the particular practice setting. In this way, the PA and the physician complement each other and work together to provide medical care to patients.

The physician assistant provides both diagnostic and therapeutic care so physicians can spend more time on complex patient problems. This allows both the physicians and the PAs to have more time to meet with individual patients, and waiting times are reduced.