Physician Assistant Interview-Example 3
Obamacare
Cons Affect doctors in a negative way Such low reimbursement that need to see 20 patients an hour in order to get reimbursed or meet heir overhead So few people take Medicare and Medicaid hard to find physicians for patients and may end up going to the emergency room Malpractice insurance can't move leg so much waited too long at emergency sued and got 30 million from insurance doctors pay extremely expensive And pills are so expensive "Affordable insurance not so affordable would be a good concept of applied well My parents got Cigna n none of their doctors are on there so have to see all new doctors grandma had to also get blue cross to keep doctors
What would u do if pt didnt like u
"I don't want any patient to feel uncomfortable, so I try to find another nurse to take my place. If I can't, I take care of the patient the best way I know how, but I try to make them as comfortable as possible." Frederica tries talking to the patient, seizing the opportunity to try an educate the individual about diversity. "Sometimes, people have misconceptions about other groups of people that can change with just a little bit of education," she said. Even though she knows you can't change everyone, Frederica tries to stick it out and is encouraged when patients change their attitudes after getting to know her, "It feels good when you can break the barrier that keeps people from getting along." Don't take anything a patient tells you personally. Just remember, you can't please everyone, so just keep moving. Most patients are like the old gentleman in the picture: They love and appreciate you as their nurse.
What is a PA?
- A physician assistant is a mid-level healthcare professional that works as a member of a healthcare team, in collaboration (or under the supervision) of a physician. PA's can take medical histories, conduct physical exams, diagnose and treat illness, order and interpret tests, develop treatment plans, counsel on preventive care, assist in surgery, and write prescriptions(or prescribe medication). - I have witnessed the broad spectrum of a PA's duties and responsibilities through shadowing several PAs invarious fieldsfrom orthopedics to mohs surgery to working under a pa that owns her own cosmetic center. (derm pa that sees first then doc)(plastic suergeyr) - This career has a great balance between autonomy and dependence, between working one-on-one with patients while at the same time collaborating with other medical professionals in order to best treat patients. -------- - Today PAs can be seen found practicing in virtually every kind of health setting, helping to assure access, improve quality, and restrain the cost of services. PAs provide a range of diagnostic and therapeutic services which vary by practice setting. These include physical examination, diagnosing and treating illnesses, ordering and interpreting test, counseling on preventative healthcare, assisting in surgery, Writing prescriptions, education, research, and administrative services. PAs are healthcare professionals who practice medicine collegiately with or under the supervision of physicians - The PA profession was created to help with the shortage of physicians and to make healthcare more accessible. PAs are extremely important in healthcare as they shorten patient wait time and increase overall patient volumes and scheduling flexibility. The PAs that I work with are knowledgeable and compassionate providers that work with their supervising physician to offer exceptional healthcare services in an affordable and accessible way.
How have you stayed current
- AAPA, JAAPA, FAPA - CME Magazine - Shadow - Work directly under a PA - In general, Ive become student of the profession, and I am very passionate and excited about the pop to become a pa -By becoming involved, I will learn more about the PA profession, and I will get unique opportunities to educate others about what PAs can do. There are also endless job and networking opportunities that come with these activities.
What are your goals as a PA?
- As a PA, I want to give patients more than just a prescription and a diagnosis code. I want to encourage my patients to take action and invest themselves in their own health that will yield much more significant results than any pill." - I am excited to not only help patients, but be a critical component in their lifestyle choices through education on disease, nutrition, exercise, stress management, and most of all, provide emotional support through their journey. - I believe in the impportance of providing primary care, education, routine physicals, blood work, intolerance testing and continuous research - I try to really listen carefully and thoughtfully to every patient that I see. I try to treat them as if they were in my family. I think to myself, "If this were my mom (brother, sister, etc) how would I evaluate and treat them." - when u came to my office it wasnt just u that was having the pain, it could be my father sitting there or my child, or it might be me, so i feel empathy for u, i feel it, so im not willing to sya oh u have a headache, take these pills itll go away. - engage pts as full partners in their own care -iwant to gbbring these qualities and values to my healthcare team
Why do you want to attend our program?
- Location Success of the program Fits my values and goals through Make me become a succesful applicant
Describe the history of the PA Profession
- The PA profession evolved in the 1960s when the U.S. was facing a serious shortage and maldistribution of physicians to address the nation's need for primary care services. - Medical corpsmen returning from Vietnam wanted civilian jobs to apply the skills they honed on the battlefield. - To help remedy this, Dr. Eugene A. Stead Jr., MD, of the Duke University Medical Center, put together the first class of PAs in 1965. He selected four Navy Hospital Corpsmen who had received considerable medical training during their military service. - Stead based the curriculum of the PA program on his knowledge of the fast-track training of doctors during World War II. - The medical community helped support the new profession, the AAPA raised as well as NCCPA to sent accreditation standards and certification. - Since then the profession has expanded exponentially and PAs began to close the service demand gap by making services more available, accessible, and affordable.
stress of pa profession
- scope of practice that is determined byphysician - bill under phys - contorlled substances but that is changing soon
Rules to help PA's?
-1- State policymakers confronted with long-term shortages of primary care physicians or other specialties also may consider facilitating greater educational opportunities for PAs; for example, by coordinating clinical training programs. - This approach would be effective at reducing shortages in specific specialties or areas, such as low-income or rural areas, if combined with financial incentives that encourage PAs to practice in those specialties or areas. -2- To a large degree, supervising physicians are granted the flexibility to delegate tasks to PAs and determine appropriate supervision methods, but state scope-of- practice laws sometimes limit physicians' authority. - For example, although all states allow PAs to prescribe medication, 14 place some limitations on the types of medications PAs can prescribe.12 Eleven states also stipulate a specific list of tasks physicians are allowed to delegate to PAs. To delegate beyond those tasks, a physician must get approval from the state medical board. The American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) argues that such restrictions impede physicians' flexibility to manage their workload and that physicians should have the authority to delegate such tasks at the local level. Increase the number of schools the demand exceeds supply
Tell us about the role you see the PA playing in the health care system.
-Physician Assistants play a key role in access to health care - While not a replacement for physicians, -PAs can be trained in half the time, at a lower cost, and deployed relatively quickly to areas of need in the healthcare system, providing many of the services traditionally delivered only by physicians because of their adaptability and lower cost. -With a grounding in primary care, PAs practice along the whole spectrum of medical and surgical specialties, - Because of their generalist training that allows lifelong flexibility in their practice patterns - Their training and education produce a sophisticated and flexible medical professional who can function in many specialty areas and within many practice structures. - Because of their adaptability and lower cost, pas can play an important role in the health care delivery system. ---- the pa progfession is in a unique position to affect the diagnosis and management of obesity. ps are trained as generalist with a focus on prevention. accrediatationstandards requires pa programs to provide a generalist education rather than fous on any particular specialty
What will be your hardest class if you are accepted?
I believe a class is only hard if you dont put enough effort into it. Organic Chemistry was "hard" because It took alot of my time and studying. I believe I can understand and succesfully pass all of the classes if I put the time into learning the material. Maybe if i had to choose, pharmacology?? I know some drugs from working in cardiology and dermatology but im certain that learning the dosage and the vast aount of drugs will be difficult.
should the PA education degree be standardized to a Master's degree?
I believe that the intensity of the program justifies a master level and that as all programs transition to master lever it brings more credibility to the profession
Managed care/HMO PPO & PA's
In many ways, managed care has been very good for PAs. However, a health care system focused on costs and efficiency also is putting more pressure on them to continue to define their roles, functions, and values. On the positive side, today's health care system is oriented toward many of the values that the PA profession has long embraced: primary care, outcomes measurement, patient education, and multidisciplinary teamwork. The new health system is oriented toward health instead of illness, population based medicine, information, consumer knowledge and satisfaction, outcomes, interdependence, and accountability—all things that mesh with the philosophy advocated by the PA profession. With 53% of the nation's practicing PAs specializing in primary care, they have a lot to contribute to the current health delivery system. Vaccinations shots and physicals Loss of clinical controlled spurred by aa cost driven health system. who could bill and be paid for serveis without much callaenge now have to wait for a healthcare plan to authorize treatent as well asreimbursement
Stress of pa
Many experts see PAs as important contributors to emerging strategies to deliver health care more efficiently and effectively, but important barriers exist that could slow the growth of the profession. For example, state laws and regulations may not be broad enough to encompass the professional competencies of PAs. In addition, state statutes and regulations impose widely diverse restrictions on physicians' ability to delegate authority to PAs, which, in some instances, are overly strict. From my own experiences working under a Physician Assistant, I see some of the frustrations first hand. Having to send our patients to see another doctor in order to receive hydrocodone for our ablative laser procedure. Need doctor for filler even though she's been doing it for over 10 years Since the scope of the PA responsibilities corresponds to the supervising physician, I believe it is important to establish a good relationship based on mutual trust respect and good communication. - understand ur role as a PA and find a practice and physician that can allow u to practice to thefull scope of ur abilities ""I believe that similar to other medical professions, a PA must deal with the stress of being responsible for an individuals well being. Also goes with the stress of malpractice insurance and suing if something went wrong who is held liable The work of a physician assistant requires a great deal of responsibility. Patients, cases, and the work environment can all be stressful. Holding someone's life and quality of life in your hands is extremely stressful. When a physician makes a mistake, the cost can be a life. That stress isn't something that can be left at the office; a failure can weigh heavily on you even after you get home. There is also outside stress to consider, such as the pressure from HMOs and patients to keep charges low. Malpractice suits are also a possibility, adding to the stress when things go wrong." Physician assistants and nurse practitioners don't have the same diplomas and licenses as physicians. But they have advanced medical training and they're allowed to diagnose, treat and prescribe within limits and under the supervision of regular physicians. But they frequently encounter their legal limitations, m Let's say you're in a rural area," she suggests, "and a patient needs a medication and there's no doctor nearby to prescribe it." All pa are required to complete extensive training in pharmacology as part of their PA education Laws that restrict the ability of supervising positions to delegate perspective authority to PAs have the potential to cause interruptions in the delivery of care
What is your greatest weakness?
My greatest weakness is saying "no" to others when it is necessary. I love to help and care for others in times of need no matter the given situation. I answer yes to eevery call at the hospital and run to help each patient. I also do not like to delegate tasks and like to complete them myself because I know my abilities. However, I realize that I cannot be at 3 places at once, and it may be best for the patient if sometimes I deleted a task to someone who is not as busy as me. This has allowed me to improve my decision-making skills and be a more ethical professional in society. I don't like to delegate tasks to others because I know my abilities and I know I will take good care of my patient
healthcare system
Our current healthcare system is failing 80-90% of diseases if not more are the results of our lifestyles, the way we handle stress and the way we treat other people If we were to adress those issues, 80-80% of our illnesses would disapear Instead our curent health care system merely treats the symptoms of the imbalances A proper paradigm would treat the source and we would approach people differently Complications that arise from overweight and obesity are generally managed within separate medical specialties, often without addressing the root cause. Given the relationship of overweight and obesity to a wide arra todays world you have 6,7,8 minutes for every visit with the physician and it costs a huge amount of money if i stop numbing ur headache or bp or, if instead went to the heatrt of what theres, tis amazing how many diseases never happen They tell physicians how they are allowed to practice and then decide how much they will pay those physicians. They tell patients what medicine they are allowed to get(via cost). They tell patients whether they are allowed to live or die - via hospice or nursing home etc.
What does the future look like for PA's?
Our future is bright! The U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts an astounding 38.4 percent employment growth in this profession between 2012 and 2022. BLS projects that the number of PA jobs will increase by 39% - A trio of factors should spur this growth, - including heightened demand for health care services from the country's swelling aging population, - increased prevalence of chronic diseases and a - physician shortage that has become more serious in recent years This coupled with the cost efficiency for PA's, fast training and team based approach, PA's can provide high quality care at a low price.
what do pas do
PAs perform a wide range of duties, including providing routine care, treating acute and chronic illnesses, managing hospital inpatients, performing minor surgeries, and assisting during major surgeries.11 - my values aligned with being a pa Based on my experience as a tech and through shadowing I have observed several PA's in action. Most of them work at mousy but usually have the availability of a physician when needed. In Er ... In internal... Perform physical exam order appropriate tests Suture casts formulate plan
Pa vs np
Regulatory board Ratio of supervision Distance requirement Independent practice liability Practice protocols
Do u manage ur time well
Yes I can. I have a set of written goals and I prioritize my time so as to accomplish them all in the order of their importance and in a timely manner
pa vs md
i can practice medicine without having to spend the ten or more years it takes to become a physician like the idea of having a supervising physician that I can consult. Opportunity to work in any medical soecialty without any additional training I have met more doctors who want to be PA's than PAs who want to be doctors. Or unhappy doctors vs happy pas PA is the sweet spot! Where life and medicine meet in the middle. In my life family will always be my greatest priority. I love my patients like I love life itself, but I love my family even more than life itself. Click to Tweet I don't think I could have found this balance as an MD chose PA over a doctor because I am looking forward to practicing medicine as soon as possible Balance of autonomy and clablratoon want the flexibility that comes with being a PA while still giving excellent care for my patients.
pa vs np conflict
state is making it difficult, not setting the same - during nP school, many PAs claim that not enough clinical medicine, pharmacology and pathophysiology is enforced in nP school -and peas have specialized training in one particular area such as family practice pediatrics woman's health psychiatry which usually complements the area of their prior nursing experience