Many paramedics and nurses have switched over to physician assistants. The requirements for the physician assistant degree program are 4 years of medical experience as well as a bachelor’s degree. Most physician assistant schools are looking for a hard working individual that would enjoy a career in medicine. But for specific requirements, the student should refer to the school of their interest. There are about 130 to 140 certified physician assitant courses that the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant recognize.

Working so closely with doctors, a physician assistant program is very difficult and strongly based on medical studies. Meaning that they are trained in a similar fashion as a physician as far as diagnosing and treating patients. With this training, the physician assistant can therefore be an ideal counterpart for a doctor. Most physician assistant degree programs are about 2 years in length and all follow the same criteria. Classes for the program is based on classroom and lab work, like most medical fields. Included in the curriculum is anatomy, pathophysiology, pharmacology, clinical practice and physical diagnosis. Following graduation, to maintain certification, a physician assistant must take 100 hours of continuing education every two years and retest every six.