Physician/Physician Assistant

PHYSICIAN:  A physician, or medical doctor, leads the medical team in caring for patients as the primary healthcare provider. A doctor diagnoses and treats diseases and conditions, as well as provides treatment in many forms including medication, procedures, surgery, or therapy. The physician shoulders the highest degree of responsibility for coordinating the patient’s medical treatment from beginning to end, analyzing the patient’s symptoms and conditions, and managing their care for the best results and recovery.  

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PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT:  Physician assistants (P.A.s) are sometimes confused with medical assistants or nurses. However, physician assistants are much more educationally and clinically advanced than medical assistants, and they don't attend nursing school for their degrees.  P.A.s can see patients and charge for office visits without a physician’s direct supervision.  P.A.s must practice under indirect supervision from a physician, meaning a physician must be in the building or sign off on all clinical orders and prescriptions written by a P.A.  

MEDICAL ASSISTANT:  A Medical Assistant (MA) or Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) assists nurses and physicians with a variety of administrative and medical tasks. Most medical assistants work in a doctor's office, and some work in hospitals. There are many different types of medical assistant jobs available which makes it a versatile career choice. Medical Assistants help with a variety of tasks including checking patients in, taking vital signs, and medical record-keeping such as updating and filing charts. Medical Assistants also may give shots and some help with medical billing and insurance coding.  

All doctors must at least complete an undergraduate degree from a four-year college or university, plus four additional years of graduate school at an accredited medical school. Graduating from medical school is required for obtaining a Medical Doctorate degree (M.D.), or a Doctorate of Osteopathy degree (D.O.). A physician attends a residency program that lasts from 3-5 years.  After residency, some specialists may attend an additional 1-3 years of Fellowship training.

Physician Assisting requires a bachelor's degree and completion of a Master's program in Physician Assisting from an accredited P.A. school. The program is usually about 2 years and includes eight clinical rotations lasting five weeks each. To expedite the process and increase your chances of being accepted into a P.A. program, it helps if your Bachelor's degree is in a science such as biology. Otherwise, you may have to take additional hours of prerequisite lab sciences before applying to a P.A. program.  

There are two types of educational programs available to aspiring medical assistants. Some schools offer a one-year certificate, or you may complete a two-year associate’s degree from an accredited school. The coursework for medical assistants will include medical terminology, math and science, first aid, medical billing, and more. After completing the program, MA’s can sign up to take the certification exam to become a CMA. The course is offered three times per year. The certification must be renewed every five years. Some employers do not require the certification, but CMA’s will typically have more job options than MA’s.  

Utah Earning Potential Averages For Physicians/Surgeons: (Jobs.Utah.Gov) 

Utah Earning Potential Averages For Physician Assistants: (Jobs.Utah.Gov)