The Army

1
The Army

• Physician Assistant

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What is a Physician Assistant ?

• A healthcare professional
• An integral part of the medical
• team
• Provides a broad range of medical services
  traditionally performed by physicians

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What is a Physician Assistant ?

• As part of their comprehensive responsibilities,
  PAs
• provide advanced trauma management
• conduct physical exams
• diagnose and treat illnesses
• order and interpret diagnostic tests
• counsel on preventive health care
• assist in surgery
• write prescriptions

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What is an Army PA

• Military health care professional certified to
  practice medicine with physician supervision.
• The AMEDDs primary medical provider in
  battalion and division level TOE units
• Echelon I/II Subject Matter Expert

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The Army PA

• Provides garrison health care to soldiers,
  family members and
• other eligible beneficiaries
• Participants in all major conflicts
• and deployments including
• Operations Urgent Fury, Desert
• Storm, Provide Comfort, and
• Southern Watch

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The Army PA

• Qualifications
• BA or BS degree
• NCCPA certification
• Graduate of an accredited program
• Governed by Army Regulation 40-48

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Educational Prerequisites

• 6 hours English Composition
• 6 hours Humanities and /or Social Sciences
• 6 hours Chemistry
• 3 hours Anatomy
• 3 hours Physiology
• 3 hours of Algebra
• 3 hours of Psychology

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Interservice PA Program (IPAP)

• 3 classes each year selected from the
• Air Force, Navy, AD Army, NG USAR
• 60 students per class
• 180 students per year

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Interservice PA Program (IPAP)

• Phase I (Didactic)
• 50 weeks
• 86 College Credit hours
• 1815 Contact hours (class room)
• AP, pathology, pharmacology, radiology,
  psychiatry, OB/GYN/, PM, orthopedics, infectious
  diseases.

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Interservice PA Program (IPAP)

• Phase II (2890 hours)
• 20 different clinical sites
• 52 weeks
• Clinical rotations include
• Family Medicine/Primary Care
• Internal Medicine

• Ophthalmology
• Psychiatry
• Pediatrics
• Dermatology
• OB/GYN
• Orthopedics
• Surgery
• Emergency Medicine
• ENT/Allergy

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The Army PA

• Specialty Training
• Aviation Med
• CV Perfusion
• Emergency Med
• Occupational Med
• Orthopedics

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Brief History of the PA

• 1965-first PA training program at Duke
  University
• 1967-first graduate of Duke program
• 1971-Congress authorized Army to train PAs
• 1973-first Army PAs graduated at Ft
  Sam Houston
• 1980-first specialty training authorized

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Brief History of the PA

• 1984-PAs assigned to White House Medical
  Unit
• 1992-PAs commissioned as regular line
  officers (formerly Warrant Officers)
  in the Medical Specialist Corps
• 1995-Fort Sam Houston selected as the
  site for Interservice PA program (IPAP)

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QUESTIONS ?
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Application Process

• DA msg http//www.goarmy.com/job/amedd/paqual.ht
  m
• POC CPT Bruce McLennan at USA
  Recruiting Command CML
  [phone]/0360 DSN
  536-0386
• E-mail bruce.mclennan_at_usarec.army.mil
• Application deadline- 31May
• Selection Board- late August