Physician Assistant Stats:*

Physician Assistants practice medicine on teams with physicians and other healthcare workers. They examine, diagnose, and treat patients autonomously and as part of a team in all various specialties of medicine.

2017 Median Pay: $104,860 per year ($50.41 per hour)

Educational Degree: Masters Degree

Number of US jobs in 2016:106,200

10 Year Job Outlook: 37% growth, much faster then avg.

*Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Physician Assistants, (visited August 5, 2018).

Terms Covered in Episode

M.D. (Doctor of Medicine) - Requires completion of a (usually) four year graduate medical school training program to become a Physician.  They examine patients; take medical histories; prescribe medications; and order, perform, and interpret diagnostic tests. They counsel patients on diet, hygiene, and preventive healthcare.

Psychiatry - Medical specialty focusing on Mental and Behavioral Health.

Salary - Opposite of hourly pay.  Salary is paid no matter how little or excess work is performed.  Does not fluctuate based on productivity or hours worked unless previously agreed upon.

Production Bonus - Extra pay for seeing more then the require amount of patients, or some variation of productivity.

Attending Cosign - Legal signature and acknowledgement of a Physician Assistant's note.  Agreeing with their interpretation of diagnostics, medical diagnosis, and treatment plan.  Requirement of number of cosigned notes varies by state with many asking 10% of charts be reviewed by the Supervising Physician.

Reimbursement - Payment for services and medical supplies from insurance companies.

Third-Party Reimbursement

RVU (Relative Value Units) - Measure of value used in the US to determine services provided by practitioners to gauge the value, and thus the reimbursement from insurance companies, for care given to patients.

Trauma Surgery - Surgical field dealing with acute traumatic injuries such as falls, motor vehicle crashes, gunshots, blunt and penetrating injuries, etc.

"Scut Monkey" - Slang term for an inexperienced medical student.  Responsible for much of the paperwork and other undesirable duties...also the subtitle of an EXCELLENT book.  Seriously, buy it!

Discharge - To be released from the hospital and given specific follow up instructions, support services, and pertinent medications.

Admit - To be brought in to the hospital for medical care, surgical care, or recovery.

OR (Operative Room) - Where surgeries take place.

ICU (Intensive Care Unit, Critical Care Unit, or Intensive Therapy/Treatment Unit) - Part of the hospital with the sickest patients requiring the most intervention from both staff and equipment.   May consist of intubated, sedated, and ventilated patients.

Pre/Post Op - The phase just prior to or after surgery for a patient

Inpatient/Outpatient - Inpatient is someone staying, at minimum, overnight in the hospital, outpatient generally refers to a clinic patient.

Level One Trauma Center - A Level I Trauma Center is capable of providing total care for every aspect of injury – from prevention through rehabilitation and includes teaching residents and medical students in all fields.

Resident - Physicians who have graduated from an accredited medical school and hold a medical degree who are now enrolled in a post graduate medical program, with varying years, with the focus on a specific medical/surgical field.

Chest Tube - A tube placed in the chest cavity to evacuate blood, pus (exudate), or air.

“Bronchs” (Bronchoscopy) - Surgical technique of visualizing the inside of the airways for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes using a flexible camera/suction device (bronchoscope) inserted into the airway (mouth, nose, trachea) of a sedated patient.

Supervising Physician - Each PA has a Supervising Physician on state record who has partnered for medical care.

Subspecialty - Specific medical or surgical focus.  For example bariatric surgery instead of general surgery or pediatric neurology instead of pediatrics.

EMT/Paramedic - Emergency medical technicians and paramedics care for the sick or injured in emergency medical settings by responding to emergency calls, performing medical services, and transporting patients to medical facilities as needed.

ER Tech - Staff who work in all aspects of patient care under the supervision of the Practitioners and Nursing staff.   Many have a paramedic/firefighting background.

“Ride-a-long” - Volunteer position to ride with EMS staff seeing the real world day to day duties of their career.

On Scene - On location of the medical event.

Aaron - Super Amazing Guy and Critical Care Nurse Practitioner.

Certificate Program - Generally around a two year program at a local community college.

EMS (Emergency Medical Services) - Services that treat illnesses and injuries that require an urgent medical response, providing out-of-hospital treatment and transport to definitive care.   Paramedics, Police, Firefighters, etc.

Undergrad - Generally refers to a Bachelor program (four to five years) after high school.

Monitor Tech - Trained technicians who observe and interpret a patient's heart status and other vital signs remotely in the hospital.

Phlebotomist - Staff skilled at drawing blood/obtaining labs.

ER (Emergency Room, Emergency Department, Emergency Ward, Accident & Emergency Dept) - Department that must provide initial treatment for a broad spectrum of illnesses and injuries, some of which may be life-threatening and require immediate attention that arrive unplanned by walk-in, private vehicle, or ambulance.

Urgent care - Walk-in clinics focused on the delivery of acute care in a dedicated medical facility outside of a traditional emergency room. Urgent care centers treat injuries and illnesses that are not serious enough to require an emergency department visit.

Auger - A large helical drill bit used often for drilling earth or wood.

Prerequisites - Classes you may need to take before further applying to a program.   Usually a focus on science/math for the medical flied.

Bachelor’s Degree - On average four to five year University Program to pursue a degree in a specific field.

Intubate - When an ET Tube, or similar artificial airway, is placed, either in an emergency, where there is loss of respiratory function, or planned such as in surgeries.

MI (Miocardial Infarction) - "Heart Attack" refers to a blocked coronary artery that has caused, or is moments away from causing, irreversible cardiac (heart) tissue damage.

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Protocols - Specific guidelines that allow EMS to treat patients en route to the hospital based on the medical situation and skill of staff.

EMS Transfers - Often non-emergent transfers from one medical facility to another.  May be as simple as a hospital to nursing home transfer a few mins away, or a half day trip to a metropolis with better medical services.

Pension - A regular payment made during a person's retirement from an investment fund to which that person or their employer has contributed during their working life.

Colleen - Supportive Wife and Amazing Flight Nurse

Travel RN - Nurse who travels for limited contracts working in all variety of places and roles.   On average 8 to 13 week contracts.

Wake Forest Physician Assistant Program

PAEA - Physician Assistant Education Association

List of PA Programs

PA History

Prescription - Legal written order for prescribed medications from a medical practitioner and dispensed by a pharmacy.

Surgical Programs

American College of Surgeons List of Surgical Specialties

A1c (Hemoglobin A1c) - A blood test that measures your average blood glucose, or blood sugar, level over the past 3 months.  Hemoglobin is a protein found inside red blood cells that carries oxygen to the body.  Used during the evaluation and treatment of diabetes.

Diabetes -  Refers to a group of diseases that result from an inability to utilize or produce insulin (naturally produced hormone) and thus unable to process glucose (sugar) appropriately.  This leads to a large variety of complications.

Byetta - A medication used for type 2 diabetics that promotes insulin secretion by the pancreas.

Vascular - A surgical subspecialty focusing on arteries, veins and lymphatic circulation using medical therapies, minimally invasive procedures, and surgical intervention.

Orthopedics - Branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system.

Plastic Surgery - Surgical field specializing in restoration, reconstruction, or alteration of the human body.

Transplant Surgery - Surgical specialty in which an organ is removed from one body and placed in the body of a recipient, to replace a damaged or missing organ.

List of PA Residency Programs

Montefiore PA Surgical Residency

Consult - When asked to weigh in officially with your medical opinion from your specialty on a patient managed by another team.

Didactic Phase - Refers to the classroom aspect of medical education.  The opposite would be clinical phase working with actual patients.

“Steps” - Refers to the USMLE

Schwartz's Principles of Surgery

Staff PA - Hospital employed Physician Assistant.

CT Surgery - Cardiothoracic surgery deals with issues of the thorax, generally the heart and lungs.

Vein Harvest - Generally endoscopic removal of a vein to replace a coronary artery (cardiac bypass).

"Pimping" - Refers to the process of getting questioned, sometimes spontaneously, on random medical topics until failure by your preceptor.

Pathophysiology - The processes associated with disease or injury.

Neurosurgery - Surgery dealing with the Nervous System (brain and spine).

Pathology - The area of medical focused on conditions typically observed during a disease state.

Foreign Body - An object that is not supposed to be there.

IM (Internal Medicine) - The medical specialty dealing with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of adult diseases. AKA “Internists.”

Hospitalist - Practitioners who focus on the treatment of hospitalized patients.

Follow up - The scheduled visit to see how the patient is progressing in their recovery or disease state after a hospital discharge or clinic visit.

Pneumothorax - AKA “Collapsed lung” is when air leaks into the space between the lungs and chest wall.  This may be due to blunt or penetrating trauma, or spontaneous due to congenital (developmental) or disease origin.  Treatment is a chest tube.

OR Device Rep - Professional representative who assists and educates the surgeon during a procedure with an expertise in their area and their company’s equipment (knee replacements, defibrillators, etc).

Each and every episode of Maybe Medical is for educational purposes only, not to be taken as medical advice.  The opinions of those involved are of their own and not representative of their employer.