Physician Assistant

Navy Physician Assistants handle a wide range of healthcare needs for Sailors, Marines, and their families: everything from primary care issues to specialty and emergency trauma situations. They serve globally in hospital settings, aboard aircraft carriers, and bring the best in U.S. health care on humanitarian relief missions. They perform comprehensive exams, treat injuries, interpret lab tests and x-rays, counsel patients, prescribe medications, and work with physicians and surgeons. Some sub-specialty opportunities include aerospace medicine, emergency medicine, general surgery, and orthopedics. PAs are one of the most operationally-centric medical professions in the United States Navy, with nearly 70 billets with the United States Marines, aboard aircraft carriers, with special forces, overseas, and as battalion surgeons.

Aviation PAs (APAs) fill critical operational billets as flight surgeon extenders in areas of direct patient care, preventative medicine, safety and readiness. Navy APAs support USN and USMC Aviation by:

• Evaluating, diagnosing, and treating aircrew and special operators.
• Performing comprehensive flight duty medical examinations.
• Identifying and preventing adverse human factors encountered in the aerospace environment.
• Making aeromedical recommendations for flying.
• Identifying occupational hazards and providing aviation mishap investigation support.
• Investigating, documenting and treating aerospace-based physiologic incidents such as hypoxia and pressure-related injuries.
• Flying with the squadron as aircrew to observe in-flight stressors and crew coordination.

 

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For more information about the Physician Assistant Community, please email: 
usn.ncr.bumedfchva.list.msc-physicianassistant@health.mil