how do I become a physician's assistant? -- Virtually Advising Q+A

The Q: I'm about to start college, and would like to become a physician's assistant, but I don't know where to begin. Any ideas? Which major I should choose?

The A: Basically any major you choose should be fine, be it a hard science, social science, foreign language, you name it. I'd recommend, though, that whatever major you end up with, you make sure to take plenty of classes in the sciences -- biology, chemistry, physics and the like -- to give you some academic background for the PA program you eventually plan to enter.

Also try to take a few liberal arts classes like English, psychology, or whatever else strikes your fancy. The more well-rounded a student you are, the better, and besides, if you're going to make a career out of practicing medicine, you should make sure beforehand that there are no other subjects you're more interested in or career paths you'd rather pursue.

To that end, also make sure to seek out experience in the healthcare field -outside- the classroom. You can start doing so now, by volunteering at hospitals or clinics, working for health-related nonprofits, training to become an EMT, etc., and continuing to do so once you're in college. Once you get to college, seek out the school's pre-med advisor, who can provide you with more information and guidance on the steps you should take to prepare for a medical career.

Lastly, for a good amount of additional info about becoming a PA, check out these two resources:

General Information from the American Academy of Physician Assistants:
http://www.aapa.org/geninfo1.html

"Physician Assistants" page at the Occupational Outlook Handbook, a massive online resource from the U.S. Dept. of Labor:
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos081.htm

Best wishes, and good luck!

—Myles Helfand, General Advisor

This response was written on Dec. 1, 2004.