Kettering College Physician Assistant Students Celebrate National PA Week
Kettering, Ohio (Oct. 4) – To recognize the contributions of PAs locally and nationally in providingquality patient care, the American Academy of Physician Assistants celebrates PAs during National PA Week, held October 6-12 each year. The week serves to celebrate the impact PAs make in health care, as well as to expand awareness and salute the growth of the PA profession.
With its Master of Physician Assistant Studies, Kettering College is one of only six colleges in the state of Ohio to offer a physician assistant degree and is the only program available to students in southwest Ohio. Kettering College’s chapter of the Student Academy of the American Academy of Physician Assistants – the Clinton Trott Society – has a series of events planned to celebrate National PA Week, including free bagels for kc students and personnel on Oct. 7 and a pizza lunch for Kettering Medical Center PAs on Oct. 13.
On Oct. 23, the PA students also will be participating in the City of Kettering’s “Make a Difference Day.” They will assist the Kiwanis Club in making “trauma dolls,” which will be used by local hospitals to help children demonstrate where on their bodies they hurt and to comfort children in the event of their presence at the hospital with sick or injured parent.
PAs are licensed health professionals who practice medicine as members of a team with supervising physicians. PAs deliver a broad range of medical and surgical services to diverse populations in rural, urban and suburban settings. As part of their responsibilities, PAs prescribe medication, conduct physical exams, diagnose and treat illnesses, order and interpret tests, counsel on preventive health care and assist in surgery. There are more than 74,000 PAs in clinical practice in the U.S., and the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects the number of PAs to increase by 39 percent within the next decade.
With the recent passing of the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act, physician assistants are poised to fill the primary care provider shortage and deliver quality health care to the approximately 32 million new patients with access to health care services. The shortage of family physicians nationwide is taking a toll on the availability of quality health care in Dayton, as seen by increasingly longer wait times for doctor’s appointments, delays in filing prescriptions and, sometimes, delays in lifesaving surgeries. A practical solution to the shortage of physicians includes the utilization of PAs, which contribute in general practice settings and in specialty settings, such as emergency medicine and oncology.
For more information about the PA profession, visit the American Academy of Physician Assistants Web page at www.aapa.org. For more information about Kettering College’s Master of Physician Assistant Studies degree, visit www.kc.lionandpanda.com/pa.
About Kettering College of Medical Arts
Kettering College of Medical Arts is a fully accredited, coeducational college that specializes in health science education. A division of Kettering Medical Center, the College is located on the KMC campus in a suburb of Dayton, Ohio, and is chartered by the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Kettering College offers certificate programs, Associate and Bachelor of Science degrees, and a Master of Physician Assistant Studies degree.
Born out of Adventist faith and upholding Christ, Kettering College educates students to make service a life calling and to view health as harmony with God in body, mind, and spirit. Eighty percent of Kettering College graduates live and work in Ohio, with the majority settling in the Dayton area.
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