PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS

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Physician assistants in the U.S. Public Health Service can choose from a variety of challenging opportunities with the eight PHS agencies and several other federal programs. Clinical care, health promotion, and administration are among the many paths to pursue.

PHS priority needs are for clinical physician assistants in primary care facilities, including community and migrant health centers, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the Indian Health Service and the Coast Guard.

As Officers of the PHS Commissioned Corps or as Civil Service employees, physician assistants earn a competitive salary and generous Federal benefits, and can choose assignments or agencies without losing their PHS tenure. Physician assistants are also hired locally as salaried employees of community and migrant health centers and tribally-managed programs.

Student Physician Assistant Programs

Physician assistant students enrolled in the final two years of an American Medical Association-accredited physician assistant training program can gain paid, professional experience through COSTEP, the Commissioned Officer Student Training and Extern Program. COSTEP students work for 31 to 120 days in clinical as well as administrative settings in the Junior COSTEP and for a full year in the Senior COSTEP.

Also, continuing professional education for PHS physician assistants is encouraged through degree program course work, conferences and symposia, and on-site seminars.

AVAILABLE OPPORTUNITIES

Bureau of Prisons (BOP)

The BOP employs physician assistants in a variety of correctional settings. Opportunities are available through the Commissioned Corps or Civil Service, and range from supervised positions for new graduates to challenging supervisory/administrative roles for the experienced physician assistant. The BOP is considered to be an international model for correctional techniques. The facilities are progressive in design and many are located near or in metropolitan centers like Chicago, New York City, Los Angeles, and Miami. Others, like the facilities in Allenwood, PA, Sheridan, OR, and Raybrook, NY, (the former Olympic Village at Lake Placid) provide a rural setting.

Indian Health Service (IHS)

Physician assistants work in the IHS, providing comprehensive care to 1.4 American Indians and Alaskan Natives in more than 250 hospitals and clinics nationwide. Physician assistants command both responsibility and respect in the IHS, working as equals with all members of the health care team - including physicians, pharmacists, dentists, and other health professionals. Most IHS facilities are west of the Mississippi, including the Northern Plains States, the Southwest, the Pacific Northwest, and Alaska.

Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS)

The Immigration and Naturalization Service Health Care Program (INS HCP) plans, directs, and provides health care to detained aliens while they are in the custody of the INS. Physician assistants assigned to the INS HCP are members of a small but elite health care team. Assignments are available to Commissioned Officers (COs) at medical facilities located in Massachusetts, New York, Florida, Texas, Arizona, and California. COs assigned to the INS HCP should be fluent in Spanish or willing to learn the language.

Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)

Physician assistants are needed to work at community and migrant health centers sponsored by the Bureau of Primary Health Care in HRSA. In this setting, physician assistants are usually hired as salaried employees of the centers. Health center physician assistants deliver a full range of general and emergency medical services; counsel patients in pre- and perinatal care, child development, family planning and other health concerns; and develop community outreach programs in nutrition, safety, and other public health topics. Positions are available in almost every state, from rural towns to inner cities.

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Physician assistants at the NIH's Clinical Center, a 540 bed research hospital and laboratory complex in Bethesda, MD, provide specialized care to patients participating in research trials. Areas of study include neurology, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, allergy and infectious diseases, child development and general medicine.

Opportunities for physician assistants are more limited in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research than in other agencies. In these and other agencies, additional opportunities are afforded to those physician assistants with advance educational credentials.

U.S. Public Health Service physician assistants make a difference in the lives of millions of Americans while building challenging health careers. To learn more, call the PHS Recruitment Program at 1-800-279-1605.