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physician assistant
noun
: a person certified to provide basic medical services usually under the supervision of a licensed physician
called also PA, physician's assistant
Examples of physician assistant in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The physician assistant student — who is the first Asian-American lead of the ABC dating series — recently revealed that night one of the upcoming season will not be filmed at the Bachelor Mansion as usual.
—Stephanie Wenger, Peoplemag, 29 Mar. 2024
The next Bachelorette is Jenn Tran, a 26-year-old physician assistant student from New Jersey.
—Dina Kaur, The Arizona Republic, 27 Mar. 2024
This innovative treatment is designed to transform the management of acute AUB by providing a fast-acting, minimally invasive option that preserves fertility and can be administered by physicians, nurse practitioners, midwives, and physician assistants in an outpatient setting.
—Brittany Barreto, Forbes, 13 Feb. 2024
While inadequate bed space is a factor, the lack of staff at every level is even more significant: nurses, physicians, physician assistants, social workers, pharmacists, skilled technicians (lab, imaging, respiratory), housekeepers, transporters, security, unit clerks, dietary and many others.
—Dan Morhaim, Baltimore Sun, 12 Feb. 2024
Natural language processing and machine learning have gained traction across health care, with use cases ranging from virtual physician assistants to clinical trial patient recruitment.
—Byjohn Kell, Fortune, 19 Mar. 2024
In Florida, this needs to be done by a licensed anesthesiologist assistant, physician assistant or registered nurse with post-anesthesia care experience.
—David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 5 Mar. 2024
The clinics, staffed by nurse practitioners and physician assistants, offer an array of quick healthcare options for children and adults including vaccinations and treating minor wounds and joint sprains.
—Samantha Gowen, Orange County Register, 30 Jan. 2024
These advanced provider response units, Hsiao wrote, consist of an EMS advanced provider who is either a nurse practitioner or a physician assistant and an LAFD firefighter or paramedic.
—Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'physician assistant.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1958, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of physician assistant was
in 1958
Dictionary Entries Near physician assistant
Cite this Entry
“Physician assistant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/physician%20assistant. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.
Medical Definition
physician assistant
noun
physician as·sis·tant
-ə-ˈsis-tənt
variants
also physician's assistant
: a specially trained person who is certified to provide basic medical services (as the diagnosis and treatment of common ailments) usually under the supervision of a licensed physician
called also PA
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