Physician assistants practice medicine under the supervision of licensed physicians.
To become a physician assistant (PA), you must meet certain academic and hands-on experience requirements. Many physician assistant programs, such as the ones at Des Moines and Hofstra universities, require that applying students have some experience shadowing a physician assistant. By shadowing a physician assistant, you can decide whether becoming a physician assistant is right for you by seeing firsthand what they do on a daily basis. Using one of several ways, you can find a physician assistant to shadow.
Instructions
1. Visit or call local hospitals or outpatient practices and ask if they allow students to shadow. If they do, tell them you're interested in shadowing a physician assistant. If they don't allow shadowing, ask if they can put you in touch with a hospital or outpatient clinic that allows students to shadow. Many heath care locations do not allow students to shadow because of patient privacy laws, so don't be offended if a facility denies you the chance to shadow.
2. Network with other pre-physician assistant students and current physician assistant students. They may be able to introduce you to a practicing physician assistant who is willing to let you shadow him. Physician assistant students are very busy, so they may not get back to you quickly. Thank them for their time even if they can't find a PA for you to shadow.
3. Volunteer at a hospital. By volunteering, you'll get to know some of the hospital staff, which in turn may lead to an opportunity to shadow a physician assistant. Volunteer experience often counts toward the health care experience hours required by many physician assistant programs, so even if you don't find a PA to shadow, you'll still acquire hospital experience.
4. Contact your state's physician assistant society. It may be able to give you a list of local physician assistants willing to have students shadow them. Some online forums (see Resources) have designated threads for shadowing opportunities listed by students and practicing physician assistants.
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