We Are PAs
KCH Blog Post Written by: Ashley Leutze MSPAS, PA-C Tiffany Hayter DMS, PA-C Daniel Cox MSPAS, PA-C Information from https://www.aapa.org/about/what-is-a-pa/ If you have received medical care through Knox Community Hospital, you may have encountered a PA (physician assistant/associate). Many of us may be at Knox, but we play an essential role. Patients have the right to choose their healthcare providers and fully understand who cares for them. In the 1960s, physicians and the American Medical Association recognized that there was a shortage of primary care providers in America. Dr. Eugene Stead Jr. organized the first PA class consisting of 4 students who were Navy medical corpsmen in 1965. The first PAs graduated from Duke University in 1967, and thus, the PA profession was born. Becoming a PA is a long, rigorous path. A bachelor’s degree must first be completed, and then students must apply to a PA program. There are more than 304 PA programs in the country, and admission is h