Role of the physician assistant in the health care system
Physician assistants are important members of every healthcare system (Zarbock, 2008). These healthcare professionals provide an essential role of offering assistance, as well as technical support in the hospital, resulting in the delivery of quality healthcare to the patient. Unfortunately, there has lately been a scarcity of physician assistants around the world and this is mainly due to the significant increase in the size of the human population at the global level. It is thus important that there is a continuous training of physician assistants in order to keep up with the growing size of the human population.
Physician assistants serve an important role in the healthcare system because they serve as adjunct healthcare professionals, providing quality care to almost every kind of patient. There is a great need for additional care for the elderly patients, because these individuals are generally sickly and they need extra attention and interaction. In addition, elderly patients often experience more diseases as this is a normal observation in the process of aging. Physician assistants are very patient with regards to providing extra time and effort in monitoring these patients and this often results in successful treatments.
Training of physician assistants involves a combination of courses in the medical sciences, such as anatomy, as well as physiology. Additional courses in psychology and sociology are also essential subjects that mold a physician assistant, since there will be interaction with different kinds of patients. Physician assistants are also helpful in the healthcare system because they can also teach family members of a patient on how to take care of their relative when they eventually go home. These healthcare professionals can also educate the patient and his immediate family on how to select conditions that can alleviate the condition of the patient.
Reference
Zarbock, S. (2008). What is a physician assistant? Looking for the right answer. JAAPA, 21, 14.