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Pre-Physicians
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SFA Pre-Physician Assistant Program OVERVIEW: Physician assistants (PA) work directly under a doctor of medicine or osteopathy and perform a wide variety of health care services that are regulated under state law. Their duties may include: taking medical histories, performing physical examinations, ordering laboratory tests and X-rays, assisting in surgery, applying casts and bandages, making tentative diagnoses, directing treatments, recommending medications, treating minor injuries, and giving pre- and postoperative care. PAs also provide patient education when appropriate. Although there are currently some PA programs producing bachelors-level graduates the trend statewide is to convert all the programs to masters-level training. Physician assistants are educated in programs lasting about 108 weeks. PA students are taught to diagnose and treat medical problems. Education consists of classroom and laboratory instruction in the basic medical and behavioral sciences followed by clinical rotations. Physician assistants must obtain a license to practice in the State of Texas. The requirements for licensure include completion of a program that is approved by the Texas State Board of Physician Assistant Examiners and national accreditation organizations. To become nationally certified, applicants must be graduates of a program that is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) and pass a certifying examination given by the National Committee on Certification of Physician Assistants, Inc. (NCCPA). According to the American Academy of Physician Assistants the range for annual salaries is from $50,000-$55,000 starting up to an average of $78,000 for experienced PAs. Click on the following to link to Texas Physician Assistant Programs. Texas Tech University Health Science Center University of Texas Health Sciences Center at San Antonio University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston University of Texas Pan American at Edinburg University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas University of North Texas Health Sciences Center at Fort Worth
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