Physician assistants are also known as PAs; they practice medicine under the direction of doctors and surgeons. They have been formally trained to examine patients, diagnose injuries and illnesses, and provide treatment. Physician assistants also evaluate and treat patients under the supervision of physicians and surgeons. A medical assistant is a graduate of an accredited medical assistant educational program, nationally certified, and licensed by the state to practice medicine under the supervision of a physician. The primary duties of a medical assistant are to take medical histories and examine patients. They interpret laboratory tests and make diagnoses, treat minor injuries with stitches, splints, casts, and prescribe certain medications. Surgical physician assistants assist doctors in the operating room and provide care to patients after surgery. The exact duties depend on the medical specialty and state. The steps to get into a medical assistant job are that you must have attended a 4-year college or university that is a bachelor's degree. You must take Biology, Chemistry, English, and Math to gain access to many PA programs that you need to complete at least 2 years of college. Depending on the health care field, one school may require 200 hours, while another may require 2,000 hours. Many people enter this profession after working in another healthcare field, such as nursing. There are more than 100 accredited programs leading to associate's, bachelor's and master's degrees. The length of medical assistant programs varies, but most last around 2 years. They include both classroom studies and supervised clinical placements. In all states, medical assistants must obtain licensure. This requires the successful completion of a national requirements study. The responsibilities you have increase the workload of patients and begin to develop a certain autonomy. At level 3, the example title is Experienced Medical Assistant. Earrings cost between $80,000 and $115,000 per year. Some requirements you need are ongoing maintenance of certification requirements. The responsibilities you must assume are a workload similar to that of a doctor, a high degree of autonomy and you may have some teaching or supervisory responsibilities. Most medical assistants receive benefits such as paid vacation, retirement plan contributions, and paid dental and vision care. The working conditions of a medical assistant are that they work in hospitals, private practices, clinics, HMOs, home health care agencies, schools, prisons and the military. Medical assistants typically work one-on-one with patients. Most see 25 to 50 patients per day.