Skip to content

Tag: Physician Assistants

Published on
A healthcare professional looking at a clipboard

Physician Assistant Week occurs from October 6-12 each year. This is an opportunity to celebrate PAs across the globe and in our own community. The Physician Assistant program at GW was founded in 1972, and the joint PA/MPH degree was launched in 1986. GW’s program was the first joint degree program for PA students in the US, according to program director Bart Gillum.

The PA program, ranked in the top five in the US, lasts 24 months, the PA/MPH program is 36 months. The Washington, DC location of the program makes the PA program an excellent place for PAs in training to take part in an annual leadership and advocacy summit sponsored by the AAPA, and to avail themselves of other opportunities to visit Capitol Hill to advocate on health policy.

When asked about three things that people might not know about the PA profession, Bart Gillum shared the following thoughts:

  1. "We are now "Physician Associates." In 2021 the American Academy of PAs voted to change the name from physician assistant to physician associate. While some states and institutions have already adopted the name, the new title is still in progress. Adopting the new name has been slow due to the requirement of state laws and healthcare institutions to be updated. In the meantime, you might continue to hear physician assistant and physician associate or even just PA  interchangeably."
  2. "Unlike physicians who undergo residency training for a specific specialty, PAs have the unique ability to move between medical specialties without additional formal training. A PA can work in areas such as cardiology, emergency medicine, or dermatology and switch to another field. This provides more flexibility for those who want to work in a variety of settings throughout their career."
  3. "While PAs are most prevalent in the US. PAs or PA-like professionals are present in about 15-20 other countries, including Canada, the UK, Australia, The Netherlands, Germany, South Africa, and New Zealand. Other countries are currently exploring incorporating PAs in their healthcare systems."
Infographic on physician assistants from AAPA.org
Physician Assistants at a glance (https://www.aapa.org/download/80021/)

Himmelfarb Library has many resources available to support PA students, beginning with the Physician Assistants research guide. Here you will find links to textbooks and videos, resources for diagnosis, a guide especially for PA/MPH students on doing a literature review, PANCE prep materials, resources for clerkship, and much more.

Don't forget to thank a physician assistant this week -- their important work expands patient access to healthcare. Tune in to both Good Morning America and the TODAY show on Friday morning, October 11, for a chance to see PAs representing their profession!

Published on
Decorative image of a black stethoscope, a blank sheet of white paper, and a black pen over a light blue background.
Photo by Tara Winstead

The newest class of Physician Assistant (PA) students has been hard at work since the end of May. Himmelfarb Library has enjoyed seeing so many PA students in the library this summer! We proudly support the SMHS PA program by providing resources and services to help PA students, faculty, and staff achieve their learning, teaching, clinical care, and research goals. 

Himmelfarb’s Physician Assistants Guide is a great starting point when looking for resources as it provides a comprehensive collection of PA-related resources curated on a single site! Physical examination and diagnosis are separated into individual tabs of the guide. When it’s time to start preparing for the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE), the PANCE tab of the guide has study materials and resources to help you get ready to ace the exam! You’ll also find links to professional organizations and resources for writing and citation support.

Here are some of our favorite PA resources:

Research Databases:

  • PubMed: Find health sciences articles on clinical, basic sciences, and public health information in one easy location. Himmelfarb’s PubMed search filters allow you to easily filter results by systematic reviews, practice guidelines, randomized controlled trials, cohort and case controls, and background and review articles.
  • Scopus: This interdisciplinary database provides citations and abstracts to more than 25,000 journals, and includes full-text access to Himmelfarb-subscribed journals.
  • CINAHL Complete: With coverage of nursing, biomedicine, alternative and complementary medicine, consumer health, and allied health disciplines, CINAHL Complete is a great place to find full-text access to scholarly articles.
  • Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews: If you’re looking for a systematic review, this database is a must-search resource! Cochrane systematic reviews use Cochrane’s methodology and seek to identify, appraise and synthesize all of the empirical evidence that meets pre-specified eligibility criteria to answer a specific topic. 

Point-of-Care Resources:

  • DynaMed: This evidence-based resource includes drug and disease information. DynaMed is updated daily, so you can be sure you are getting the most current information. Disease information is presented in an easy-to-read bulleted format and includes epidemiology, etiology and pathogenesis, history and physical, diagnosis, management, complications and prognosis, prevention and screening, guidelines, and patient information.
  • Epocrates+: This evidence-based resource also provides disease and drug information. Disease information is presented in a step-by-step approach that covers prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis.

Journals:

PANCE Prep Resources:

  • PA Exam Prep: Practice questions with answers will help you prepare for PANCE and PANRE. PA Exam Prep has customizable features that allow you to select topic coverage, choose the number of questions, and annotate exam questions and answers. 
  • Exam Master: This resource has question banks to support studying for PANCE and PANRE. Create a free personal account to access the content.

Books:

Published on
Welcome!
Photo by Nico Smit on Unsplash

From all of us here at Himmelfarb Library, we’d like to welcome all new residents, fellows, physician assistants, and students! We are excited that you’re here and we look forward to serving you during this phase of your medical or health sciences training. We know the beginning of any journey can be daunting, so we’d like to make it easier for you to familiarize yourself with Himmelfarb Library and help you get to know us a bit.

To help you get your bearings, here’s a short, video tour of the library.

Resources for Residents & Fellows:

Himmelfarb has numerous resources to help new residents and fellows navigate this new stage of your training. Our Residents and Fellows Guide is filled with helpful information about how to access Himmelfarb’s resources from the GW Hospital and other off-campus locations. Links to our most popular clinical resources including DynaMed, ClinicalKey, Lexicomp, and PubMed are also available in this guide. The guide also provides links to specific program resources, so you can easily find resources geared towards your specialization.

NEJM Resident 360 is available! Start by creating your free personal account using your GW email address (GWemail@gwu.edu). After creating your account, access the resource through the library or directly through NEJM Resident 360. This resource contains interactive cases, videos, rotation prep materials, clinical pearls, morning reports, and more!

Do you want to use our resources from your mobile device? Check out our App Shelf to download apps to selected resources and make Himmelfarb’s resources even more easily accessible. To learn more about GW University and GW Hospital wireless access, accessing your GW email, and GW Hospital clinical systems, visit the Wireless and Clinical Systems Guide.

Himmelfarb Resources Available 24/7 from Anywhere!

Himmelfarb’s 125+ databases, 6,500+ journals, and 6,700+ ebooks are available 24/7 from anywhere! For seamless access to full-text articles available from our collection, install the LibKey Nomad browser extension. Use the Read by QxMD app and website to keep up with published research in your specialty. When accessing our resources remotely, we encourage you to use the GW VPN. You can find directions on how to install the VPN on our off-campus access page. If you need help troubleshooting an access issue, don’t hesitate to reach out to us (himmsubs@gwu.edu).

Need Research Help? 

Getting help with your research is a breeze at Himmelfarb! Our knowledgeable reference librarians are available to help answer your questions both in person at our reference desk or remotely. Our Ask a Librarian service connects you directly with our reference and research staff! Need help with a systematic review? Consider using our Systematic Review Service for help developing a search strategy, finding relevant articles, and organizing your search results. 

Tutorials, Guides, and More!

As you get settled into this new chapter of your medicine and health sciences journey, don’t forget that Himmelfarb has more to offer than just databases, journals, and books. We have a wealth of research guides that can connect you with resources on a variety of topics. Do you need help navigating the publishing landscape? Check out our Early Career Researchers, Scholarly Publishing, Predatory Publishing, and Measuring Scholarly Impact guides and our Scholarly Communications webinars and short tutorials. We also have a large selection of tutorials on a wide range of topics. 

Connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for the latest Himmelfarb news and updates. 

We look forward to serving you! Welcome to the GW community!

Viewing Message: 1 of 1.
 Notice

This site uses cookies to offer you a better browsing experience. Visit GW’s Website Privacy Notice to learn more about how GW uses cookies.