MD, PA, or NP?
This healthcare role requires an RN license prior to entering advanced degree training.
What is a Nurse Practitioner (NP)?
Certified PAs do not work in the following specialites:
psychiatry
ophthalmology
anesthesiology
certified PAs work in every specailty
What is option 4?
The national organization that represents PAs and advocates for the profession in policy and legislation.
What is AAPA (American Academy of Physician Associates/Assistants)?
Average duration of a master's level PA educational program.
What is 2 to 3 years?
True or False: PAs in primary care settings can write prescriptions for medications, including antibiotics and pain relievers.
What is True?
Unlike PAs who are trained under a generalist model, NPs must choose a specific target demographic before starting school, such as Family, Acute Care, or this specialty focused on children.
What is Pediatrics?
What is the longest medical residency in terms of years of training?
Neurosurgery, which typically requires 7-8 years of residency training.
The single application portal used by most Pre-PA candidates to apply to accredited programs across the U.S.
What is CASPA (Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants)?
The required post-graduate training period for MDs and DOs before they can practice independently.
What is Residency?
In an operating room, PAs frequently serve in this key role, assisting the primary surgeon with retracting, suturing, and holding tissue.
What is First Assist (or Surgical First Assistant)?
MD and PA programs share this foundational framework, which focuses heavily on pathophysiology, disease mechanics, diagnosis, and medical treatment.
What is the Medical Model?
True or False: PAs can prescribe medications in all 50 U.S. states.
This acronym describes the hands-on healthcare experience that may include working directly with patients, such as being a CNA, EMT, or medical assistant.
What is PCE (Patient Care Experience)?
The standardized national certifying exam that all PA graduates must pass to earn their "PA-C" title.
What is the PANCE?
A PA wants to switch specialties from Dermatology to Orthopedic Surgery. To legally practice orthopedics, the PA must complete this step.
What is On-the-job training/employer onboarding?
(No additional residency or re-certification required)
These two medical degrees are legally and functionally equivalent in the US, allowing full physician licensure and surgical practice.
What is MD and DO?
In which healthcare profession is a doctoral degree optional but encouraged for those who want to advance their career?
What is Nurse Practitioner (NP), with the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) being optional?
A patient’s H&P is being completed. What two parts of the patient's evaluation does this abbreviation refer to?
What is History and Physical?
The model of education that PA training is built on, emphasizing pathology, diagnosis, and treatment similar to medical school.
What is the Medical Model?
If an MD or DO wants to switch specialties from Pediatrics to Anesthesiology, they must undergo this training requirement.
What is Completing a full new Residency program?
Eugene Stead established the first physician assistant program in 1965 at this North Carolina university using former Navy corpsmen.
What is Duke University?
How many accredited PA programs are there in the U.S.?
What is 335?
This Federal agency issues the registration required for physicians, PAs, and NPs to prescribe controlled substances.
What is the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration)?
The total minimum number of years of post-secondary education and clinical training required before an MD or DO can practice independently in the U.S.
What is 11 years (4 undergraduate + 4 medical school + minimum 3 residency)?
A PA and an NP both work in an Emergency Department. If the PA encounters a rare, life-threatening presentation they haven't treated before, their workflow relies on consultation with this team member.
Who is the Attending Physician?