A medical assistant is a licensed healthcare professional who practices medicine under the supervision of a physician. They have completed a certification program and vocational school instruction. Physician assistant course requirements include classes in anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, genetics, and statistics. The program takes two to three years and includes up to 2,500 hours of supervised clinical care. Advanced requirements include biochemistry, microbiology, and statistics courses. Graduates must pass the GRE to qualify for master’s work.
A medical assistant, or AP, is a licensed healthcare professional trained to practice medicine while directly supervised by a physician, physician, or osteopath. Despite the similarity of titles, a medical assistant is not a medical assistant. A medical assistant is a minimally trained healthcare professional prepared with vocational school instruction and completion of a certification program. A medical assistant, on the other hand, is a healthcare professional, usually with a bachelor’s degree in a health-related field and a master’s degree that allows them to practice with a license. Physician assistant course requirements closely mimic the classes required in advanced nursing and medical programs, and include topics such as anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, genetics, and statistics.
Depending on which of the 159 programs offered in the US you apply, the requirements for the medical assistant course vary greatly. The vast majority, however, are challenging programs designed to produce capable APs who can practice safely with minimal medical supervision. The usual time spent completing the minimum requirements for the medical assistant course ranges from two to three years. In addition to specific classes to be passed, these programs also include up to 2,500 hours of supervised clinical care, often conducted at the same time as classroom instruction.
Some of the medical assistant course requirements are the same as those required for nursing or pre-medical students. These classes would include basic courses in biology and chemistry, a full year of human anatomy and physiology, physics, nutrition, and genetics. A second full year of chemistry, in the form of Organic Chemistry I and II, are also PA course requirements. Social science courses are also required – including sociology, psychology and abnormal psychology. Anthropological or multidisciplinary courses, such as those related to death and dying, may also be required.
The advanced requirements of the medical assistant course build on the foundations of the first year courses. Biochemistry classes are required: a general class and an advanced class, planned to be specific to the student’s eventual practice. A full year course in general microbiology followed by microbiology and disease is also required. One or more basic statistics courses may be required to ensure each graduate’s ability to evaluate clinical research and drug studies that she will review throughout her career. Between these two levels of medical assistant course requirements, students are expected to study to successfully complete the Graduate Record Examination, or GRE, to qualify for master’s work.
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