Physician assistants provide healthcare services typically performed by a physician, under the supervision of a physician. Conduct complete physicals, provide treatment, and counsel patients. May, in some cases, prescribe medication. Must graduate from an accredited educational program for physician assistants.
Examine patients to obtain information about their physical condition.
Make tentative diagnoses and decisions about management and treatment of patients.
Prescribe therapy or medication with physician approval.
Administer or order diagnostic tests, such as x-ray, electrocardiogram, and laboratory tests.
Interpret diagnostic test results for deviations from normal.
Obtain, compile, and record patient medical data, including health history, progress notes and results of physical examination.
Instruct and counsel patients about prescribed therapeutic regimens, normal growth and development, family planning, emotional problems of daily living, and health maintenance.
Visit and observe patients on hospital rounds or house calls, updating charts, ordering therapy, and reporting back to physician.
Provide physicians with assistance during surgery or complicated medical procedures.
Perform therapeutic procedures, such as injections, immunizations, suturing and wound care, and infection management.
Supervise and coordinate activities of technicians and technical assistants.
Order medical and laboratory supplies and equipment.
Frequency of Decision Making — 80% responded "Every day".
Exposed to Disease or Infections — 85% responded "Every day".
Importance of Being Exact or Accurate — 65% responded "Extremely important".
Telephone — 65% responded "Every day".
Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results — 60% responded "Very important results".
Physical Proximity — 65% responded "Very close (near touching)".
Work With Work Group or Team — 65% responded "Extremely important".
Electronic Mail — 55% responded "Every day".
Deal With External Customers — 60% responded "Extremely important".
Freedom to Make Decisions — 45% responded "A lot of freedom".
Consequence of Error — 60% responded "Extremely serious".
Structured versus Unstructured Work — 60% responded "Some freedom".
Coordinate or Lead Others — 35% responded "Very important".
Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets — 60% responded "Every day".
Deal With Unpleasant or Angry People — 40% responded "Once a week or more but not every day".
Time Pressure — 45% responded "Every day".
Letters and Memos — 40% responded "Every day".
Responsible for Others' Health and Safety — 30% responded "High responsibility".
Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls — 30% responded "Continually or almost continually".
Level of Competition — 55% responded "Highly competitive".
Spend Time Standing — 65% responded "About half the time".
Importance of Repeating Same Tasks — 40% responded "Very important".
Responsibility for Outcomes and Results — 50% responded "Moderate responsibility".
Frequency of Conflict Situations — 40% responded "Once a month or more but not every week".
Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Assisting and Caring for Others — Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
Documenting/Recording Information — Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge — Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others — Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.
Processing Information — Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Analyzing Data or Information — Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts.
Performing for or Working Directly with the Public — Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
Interacting With Computers — Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards — Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
Monitor Processes, Materials, or Surroundings — Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
Developing and Building Teams — Encouraging and building mutual trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work — Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
Communicating with Persons Outside Organization — Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.
Provide Consultation and Advice to Others — Providing guidance and expert advice to management or other groups on technical, systems-, or process-related topics.
Training and Teaching Others — Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.
Thinking Creatively — Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others — Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks.
Developing Objectives and Strategies — Establishing long-range objectives and specifying the strategies and actions to achieve them.
Judging the Qualities of Things, Services, or People — Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.
Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others — Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.
Performing Administrative Activities — Performing day-to-day administrative tasks such as maintaining information files and processing paperwork.
Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Biology
Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Psychology
Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
English Language
Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Therapy and Counseling
Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Customer and Personal Service
Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Education and Training
Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Computers and Electronics
Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Sociology and Anthropology
Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.
Chemistry
Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Active Listening
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Speaking
Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Critical Thinking
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Service Orientation
Actively looking for ways to help people.
Social Perceptiveness
Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Judgment and Decision Making
Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Monitoring
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Complex Problem Solving
Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Active Learning
Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Writing
Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Science
Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
Coordination
Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Systems Evaluation
Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Systems Analysis
Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Time Management
Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Persuasion
Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Learning Strategies
Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression
The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Inductive Reasoning
The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Deductive Reasoning
The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Written Comprehension
The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Problem Sensitivity
The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Near Vision
The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Written Expression
The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Speech Recognition
The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Speech Clarity
The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Information Ordering
The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Category Flexibility
The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
Speed of Closure
The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.
Flexibility of Closure
The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
Finger Dexterity
The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
Perceptual Speed
The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
Number Facility
The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
Mathematical Reasoning
The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
Originality
The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
Visual Color Discrimination
The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
Fluency of Ideas
The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
