Duke's Historic Physician Assistant Program Opens Doors
Open House For Prospective Students Set for June 4
In 1965, Duke's Medical Center started a first-of-its-kind program to assist busy doctors, primarily in rural areas of North Carolina. The idea was to free supervising physicians to see more patients by training physician assistants to do some of their work.
It was a good idea.
Today, there are around 70,000 practicing physician assistants in the U.S., according to the American Academy of Physician Assistants. "They are playing a key role in providing access to health care in the midst of increasing demand," says Justine Strand, division chief for Physician Assistant Education in the Department of Community and Family Medicine at Duke.
Prospective students can learn more about Duke's Physician Assistant Program during an open house June 4 at Hanes House, which will include an overview of the admissions process and panel discussions with students and faculty.
The duties of a physician assistant include taking patient histories, performing physical examinations, ordering laboratory and diagnostic studies, developing patient treatment plans and prescribing medications. Physician assistants are licensed to practice medicine with the supervision of a physician, according to the academy. The median income for a full-time PA last year was around $82,000.
Duke's PA program continues to grow. The class entering this August is the program's largest with 66 students. "There are shortages of health care professionals in virtually all areas. PAs are no exception," says Patricia M. Dieter, director of Duke's PA program.
Students earn a Master of Health Sciences degree after completing one year of classroom study and a second year of clinical rotations. An important prerequisite for admission to the program is hands-on patient care experience, Strand says.
Jose Ruiz had a bachelor's degree in theater from Davidson College when he decided to enroll in Duke's PA program, which he'll finish in August. The Charlotte resident says medicine was always in the back of his mind as a possible career since he watched his chronically ill grandfather "deteriorate" when he was a child.
"I saw the healthcare he was receiving wasn't the best because of his limited English," Ruiz says. He became a certified nurse's assistant before enrolling at Duke. Ruiz, who is bilingual, hopes to work as a physician assistant in primary care or urgent care, and to provide help to Latino patients.
---
Open House: Wednesday, June 4, Room 131, main classroom, Hanes House, 330 Trent Drive. Free. Information: pa.mc.duke.edu/index.asp; 681-3161