If you are looking for a career that will give you great job security, you might want to consider entering the medical field as a physician assistant. You wont need nearly as much education to become a physician assistant as you would need to become a doctor or physician, yet you will still earn a decent salary and full package of benefits. If you are interested in this area of the medical field, you will have to meet a few physician assistant prerequisites before you start applying for jobs.

In order to work in the field, you must pass physician assistant prerequisites set by the state in which you want to work. In almost all cases, you will be expected to complete your bachelors degree in a related medical field, and then go into a training program that will prepare you to pass the national certification exam. The exam you ultimate pass is called the PANCE, which stands for Physician Assistant National Certification Exam. Once you have met all prerequisites to enter a training program, the training program will prepare you for this examination.

You can only enter a physician assistant training program after you have completed at least two years of college in a related field, though many programs require a bachelors degree. You may also be required to have some working experience in the medical field. Most future physician assistants start out with internships or part-time positions in doctors offices or hospitals. This is where valuable professional connections are made, and it is where the foundation of knowledge is established for future physician assistants.

Training courses are designed to prepare you for the national examination and any state prerequisites that may be demanded before you can apply for active employment. The more competitive programs may require you to give references, including references from medical professionals. If you have gained some working experience, securing these references will be much easier.

Once you have become certified and licensed by your state, you should expect to continue your education and pass ongoing prerequisites to remain licensed. Some states require a certain number of credit hours to be achieved every couple of years, but the specific requirements for maintaining a license can vary. You will learn all of these details in your physician training program, but you can also find them online through your governments website.

Many people get confused between the nurses assistant and physician assistant career fields, but they are quite different. You will be required to endure a lot more education as a physician assistant than you would as a nurses assistant.

physician assistants work hand-in-hand with medical doctors, and they are able to give authoritative medical advice and write out prescriptions. When working out of a doctors office, it is common for the physician assistant to have their own patients who are never seen by the physicians in the office. Nurses simply do not obtain that much responsibility and freedom within the medical field. Physican assistants must go through a lot more training and education than nurses assistants, and for good reason.

A career in this field starts with basic education at the undergraduate level. The end goal is to pass the national exam, but you have to get into a training program first so you are prepared to pass. Once the training program has been completed, you just have to pass that exam and register with the state so you can get a job.

For some, this is seen as a faster way to get into the medical field, but you cannot underestimate how difficult it is to get through all of these physician assistant prerequisites. You must commit yourself to at least a couple years of training at the postgraduate level, with many physician assistants putting in more than that before taking their national certification exam and entering the work field.