News Article Praises PAs
An article in today's Times Leader, a newspaper serving northeast Pennsylvania, focuses entirely on physician assistants. In honor of PA Week, which starts today, "The PA is in" tells the story of Justine Samanas, a PA at Mercy Special Care Hospital in Nanticoke:
Justine Samanas is spending her workday seeing patients, listening to descriptions of their aches and pains, prescribing medication, setting up tests and doing some basic surgical procedures in the Nanticoke office of family medicine where she works.
No, she's not a doctor. She's a physician assistant.
And if the recent enrollment figures in area colleges are any indication, many area residents will be treated by a physician assistant in various health settings - including their doctor's office, urgent care center or hospital emergency room - in the future. Maybe even instead of a family physician.
In addition, the article explains the history of PAs, the role of PAs and the path one takes to become a PA. Though the reporter does mention that PAs can't set up their own practices, which we know isn't always the case (read ADVANCE's coverage of Stu Jones, PA and practice owner), this article covers more of the facts than I've seen in the majority of stories that reference PAs. In fact, there is even a paragraph correcting the common mispronunciation and spelling of the PA title.
Read the full article here, and bask in the glory of being a PA! Happy PA Week!