What’s The Difference Between A Doctor And A Physician Assistant?
One of the questions people who visit the hospital regularly have in mind is what makes a doctor and a physician assistant different. They both seem to be playing similar roles and executing similar responsibilities, mainly caring for patients.
Knowing this won’t be a big concern for patients themselves, who are simply there to receive medical attention. However, those interested in pursuing healthcare careers may want to know which is which. If you’re one of them, you’ll need some clarification on the specific roles and scope of each of these lines of work. This way, you can decide where you work in the field one day.
Getting this down first is part of the process of getting into the easiest med schools of 2023. As the demand for care continues to evolve in the coming years, either of your choices will provide you with the fulfilling healthcare experience you’ve wanted. There will be no shortage of opportunities to serve people in need with your skills, knowledge, and compassion.
Without further ado, here are some of the main aspects that differentiate physician assistants from doctors.
- Responsibilities
A doctor is a healthcare professional whose diagnoses people’s health issues and provides them with the appropriate treatments. They’re found in a variety of settings and can work with fellow practitioners and other providers to offer services. Depending on their specialization, they can start their own private practices.
A doctor has many responsibilities, including:
- Performing examinations and tests
- Reviewing a patient’s history and asking them questions to make a proper diagnosis
- Performing procedures and surgeries
- Giving the patient a treatment plan and explaining it to them
- Developing a detailed follow-up plan
- Referring patients to other hospitals or specialists who can provide the specific level of care they need
- Meeting and discussing the underlying medical issue with the patient’s loved ones, especially if it’s life-threatening
Speaking of specialists, most doctors undergo extensive training to qualify for a variety of medical niches, such as surgery, internal medicine, psychiatry, pediatrics, pathology, and more. They do this to direct their specific talents, knowledge, and skills into fields where they’re needed most. It also has a practical advantage for them; specialization opens up a lot of career opportunities usually unavailable to general practitioners.
On the other hand, a physician assistant (PA) is trained to look after patients under a doctor’s supervision. They receive instructions on how to go accomplish a person’s care plan, ensuring they stay on track and achieve their healthcare goals.
Because of that, they’re considered the patient’s primary caregivers. Some of their roles include the following:
- Examining patients and coming up with probable outcomes
- Handling and evaluating treatment plans regularly
- Giving prescriptions and explaining them to the patients
- Ordering scans and tests for patients
- Interpreting the results of a test to the patients
- Treating less severe conditions like burns, cuts, and minor injuries
- Offering counseling to patients
- Working hand in hand with other medical care experts
From the above description, you can see that a doctor is higher in rank and guides the physician assistant on what to do. PAs have to consult them whenever a healthcare decision needs to be made; they don’t act independently. On the flip side, most doctors don’t have to consult anyone except specific professionals to carry out any medical action.
- Study Period Before Licensing
Another significant difference between a doctor and a PA is the years they spend in school before becoming certified professionals.
To become a doctor, you must go to pre-med school, obtain a bachelor’s degree, and then proceed to medical school for four years before practicing.
In med school, aspiring doctors major in coursework and laboratory work for the first two years. This is to introduce them to the basics and foundations of medicine. When they get to the third and fourth year, they start practicing by doing rotations in hospitals and other medical care facilities under the supervision of a certified expert.
Once they complete this period, they then proceed to their post-graduate studies, where they do their residency in their preferred specialization, like becoming an orthopedic surgeon. Depending on the path they chose, this can take about three to seven years.
All in all, a doctor-in-training can spend about 11 to 15 years before gaining a license and practicing their specific line of work.
Likewise, PAs go through pre-med school. But upon finishing their undergraduate program, they train to gain a physician assistant certification. This may take about two years and a few months. After that, they start practical rotations to gain experience for about a year.
The cumulative number of years PAs take before gaining a practicing license is about seven years. After that, they decide whether to continue with further education. They can pursue a new specialization in the middle of their careers.
With that said, becoming a doctor takes longer than becoming a PA. This is mostly because of the additional requirements needed for specializations. Also, they get to do this during their time training, unlike PAs who may choose to specialize later in their careers.
- The Time Spent Working In Diverse Environments
As discussed earlier, doctors work in a variety of settings. Some have a clinic where they solely offer services regarding their discipline, like women’s health, while others work in a hospital together with other practitioners.
Depending on their specialization, some doctors work for longer hours and even on weekends. And since they may be called to handle an emergency at any time, they have to keep their lines open when not working since they must be reachable at any time.
The most common places where doctors work include:
- Government and community facilities
- Private practices
- Hospitals
- Non-profit organizations
- The military
In contrast, PAs work mostly in team-oriented settings and have an almost fixed schedule. They usually work from eight to five during the weekdays. The times when they work night shifts or overtime are few, though that happens occasionally.
Most PAs work in the following locations:
- Nursing homes
- Outpatient centers
- Hospitals
Regardless of where they serve, both doctors and PAs work to aid patients in getting positive outcomes.
Which Path Will You Take?
Many people confuse doctors with PAs. As much as the two professions have almost similar characteristics, there are some key differences. These include the number of years spent in education and the work opportunities available. Either way, both present valuable lines of work for aspiring healthcare practitioners. Start preparing for your medical career today.
