Physician Assistant Student Association
SDSU's
What is PASA?
We are a non-profit student organization that brings together students aspiring to become physician assistants. We're here to inform students about the PA profession, help them meet PA programs, become a well-rounded applicant for PA school, and support members through their undergraduate journey at SDSU.
What is a Physician Assistant?
A physician assistant (PA) is a healthcare professional licensed by the state or certified by a federal employer to practice medicine with the supervision of a physician. PAs perform a wide range of medical duties, from basic primary care to high-technology specialty procedures that traditionally were performed by a doctor. PAs diagnose and treat illness and injuries as well as exercise a degree of autonomy in their decisions.
Due to shortage of primary care physicians in the mid-1960s, Eugene A. Stead Jr. MD, of Duke University Medical Center, put the first class of PAs together in 1965. The first class of PAs graduated on October 6, 1967 from Duke University PA program.
PA Specialties
Physician Assistants differ from Doctors in that they have greater lateral mobility, meaning they can move between specialties more easily. Because PA programs provide broad medical training across multiple specialties, PAs are well prepared to transition from one area of practice to another with relative flexibility. These are some specialties PAs can specialize in:
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Cardiology
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Dermatology
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ENT/Otolaryngology
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Family Medicine
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Neurology
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Obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN)
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Surgery
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Pediatrics
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Emergency Medicine