To The Unsung Heroes Who Make A Doctor's Job Possible, The Physician Assistants

This week we are celebrating a cause very close to my heart, National Physician Assistant week and I couldn't be happier to know some amazing PAs.

To the world changers and lifesavers, thank you. If you are in the medical field, go to the doctor a lot, or just know there is a major for it, you know that physician assistants are the men and women who run the show when it comes to treating patients in a fast and timely manner, all while working under a physician. While you may assume they are "nurses" or sometimes even "medical assistants" I hope you know they are so much more than that.

When I started college I went pre-med. I wanted to be a world changer as well. However, school quickly got the best of me and I decided I did not want to spend the next ten years going to school. After evaluating my choices, it was an easy compromise. I decided that day in my advisor's office that I wanted to be a physician assistant.

While scrolling through Instagram the other day I saw an account made specifically for exploitation of physician assistants. It hurt my heart to know that some people do not understand the training and work that PA's do in our society. For example, time management. If you had to sit and wait for one doctor for the rest of your life, you'd be waiting a long time. Physician assistants consult with a physician step by step to create a plan of care quickly and efficiently. They go through schooling and learning to be able to treat and care for patients, just like everyone else in the medical field does. They work under the doctor and consult with them for every patient.

No, a physician assistant is not a nurse. A physician assistant goes through four years of undergrad and then a competitive two years of PA school where they learn the ins and outs of several fields. They learn more in two years than most people ever will and guess what, they work their butts off to get them to that point.

Schooling or not, I can promise you that the group of physician assistants I work with are some of the best people I know. They treat patients effectively and carefully. They explain things to patients that can be difficult, they are on their feet all day, and they care about their patients a ton. Spending time working in the medical field has been nothing short of a dream as I watch the physician assistants I so love and admire. They really are world changers.

So, next time you refuse to see anyone but the doctor, I encourage you to rethink your decision and to trust the medical expertise of the physician assistants. Trust me, doctors have full trust in physician assistants to treat you, which is exactly why we have a wonderful aid to help patients along the way.

I chose to be a physician assistant because I believe in the field. I believe that medicine needs more knowledgeable people to help them and to guide us in the right direction medically. I look up to physician assistants and hope this week you thank the physician assistants you are in contact with. It's not an easy field, trust me. Medicine will never be easy. But physician assistants are becoming more popular and on-demand more and more.

So go out today, and hug your favorite physician assistant. If you are interested in the field and see this as an option for you, I encourage you to do research. Be prepared, you might change your major right away. All in all, Happy Physician Assistant week! I can't wait to graduate and celebrate this week!