OCCUPATION: PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT

Name: John Hasty

Company: CIGNA Health Plans of Southern California

Thumbs up: “Through a physician, I’m able to practice medicine in a supervised way and provide both urgent care and long-term support and education. I like the professional environment. It’s stimulating, and you get a lot of good feedback; it’s very rewarding in that sense. I have fun, and they pay me for it.”

Thumbs down: “There’s not a whole lot I dislike about the job. It would be nice to have prescription rights for some medications. It would also be nice to get some of the state regulations clarified so physician assistant responsibilities wouldn’t be so ambiguous.”

Next step: “I like what I do. The next step would be to broaden my knowledge base and technical skills in emergency medicine.”

Advice: “If you want to be a physician, go to medical school. But for people who want to be involved with health care but don’t want to go to medical school, this is a great career.”

Salary range: $25,000 to $55,000 yearly.

Hours: Varies according to setting. Physician assistants work 24-hour shifts in emergency rooms.

Educational and training requirements: Graduation from a state-approved physician assistant program and certification from the California State Board of Medical Quality Assurance and the National Commission on Certifying of Physician Assistants.

Size of work force: Small. In Orange County, about 535 people are physician assistants.

Expected demand: The growth rate depends on the increase in the number of prepaid health plans, but there will always be a need for physician assistants in rural areas, inner cities and facilities that care for the elderly.

Job description: Take down patient histories, perform physical examinations, order laboratory tests, make diagnoses and prescribe appropriate treatments, perform routine therapeutic procedures such as giving injections, cleaning and stitching minor wounds, applying splints and removing casts, under the supervision of a physician.

Major employing industries: Health maintenance organizations, government and private medical practices, prisons, schools, universities, some major corporations, clinics.

For information: For license information, call the California Board of Medical Quality Assurance weekdays at (916) 924-2626 and the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants at (703) 836-2272, Ext. 3404 and Ext. 3408.