Free Physician Assistant General Information Questions and Answers — Questions and Answers

Question 1: What position does PA have among US News and World Report's "top 100 jobs"?

1
4
2
3 (Correct answer)

Correct answer: 3

Physician Assistant has consistently ranked near the very top of U.S. News & World Report's Best Jobs list, placing 3rd in the cited ranking. The other positions don't match the report's listed standing for the PA profession.

Question 2: Feldshers in Russia received instruction in the 1650s.

2-3 months
2.5 years (Correct answer)
4 months
8 years

Correct answer: 2.5 years

Feldshers in Russia in the 1650s typically received about 2.5 years of training, including basic medical skills such as bloodletting, wound care, and childbirth.

Question 3: Who established MEDEX?

Eugene Stead
Henry Silver
Richard Smith (Correct answer)
Charles Hudson

Correct answer: Richard Smith

MEDEX (Medicine Extension) was established in 1969 by Richard Smith and John Coombs at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, Washington, to train physician assistants to provide primary care services in rural and underserved areas.

Question 4: How many PA programs are there right now?

212
268
300
282 (Correct answer)

Correct answer: 282

As of September 2025, there are 282 accredited PA programs in the United States.

Question 5: Which DOES NOT fall under IPC's purview?

Knowledge
Attitudes
Skills
Lower or stabilized costs (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Lower or stabilized costs

Lower or stabilized costs are not a competency of IPC.

Question 6: Who should be chosen to oversee a PA?

MD (Correct answer)
Pharmacist
Dentist
DO (Correct answer)

Correct answer: MD

DO, and MD can supervise a PA.

Question 7: Who was involved in developing the first NP program?

Dr Stead and Thelma Ingles
Karen Bass
Dr Johnson and Henry Treadwell
Dr Silver and Loretta Ford (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Dr Silver and Loretta Ford

Dr. Loretta Ford and Dr. Henry Silver together created the first Nurse Practitioner (NP) program in the mid-1960s at the University of Colorado.

Question 8: Every two years, log 100 hours of continuing education, and every six years, take the recertification exam.

average pa program runs
to maintain national certification, PA's must (Correct answer)
pa's responsibilities
admissions test

Correct answer: to maintain national certification, PA's must

The sentence describes the recertification requirements PAs follow to keep their national certification — logging 100 hours of continuing education every two years and passing the recert exam every six years. So the correct completion is 'to maintain national certification, PAs must.' The other phrases describe program length, job duties, or admissions, which don't match these maintenance requirements.

Question 9: Amt of time spent in school

% of females
Median age
Admissions test
Main difference between PA and physician (Correct answer)

Correct answer: Main difference between PA and physician

The main difference between a PA and a physician is the amount of time spent in school—physician training (medical school plus residency) takes substantially longer than the master's-level PA pathway. Female percentage, median age, and admissions tests are demographic or process details, not the fundamental structural difference between the two careers.

Question 10: The only national organization that represents PAs in all specialties and all employment settings.

American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) (Correct answer)
Recommended format
Association of physician assistant programs(apap)
Child health associate (cha) program

Correct answer: American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA)

The American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) is the only national organization that represents PAs across all specialties and employment settings. APAP focuses on PA education programs and the CHA program is a specific training program, so neither serves as the overarching professional body for the entire profession.

Question 11: An internship or residency.

# of accredited schools
PA's dont need to do (Correct answer)
PA's are educated in the
PA's responsibilities

Correct answer: PA's dont need to do

Unlike physicians, PAs do not need to complete an internship or residency after graduation—they are trained to enter practice directly. While optional postgraduate residencies exist, they are not a required step, which is a key distinction from the physician pathway.

Question 12: bachelor's an about 4 yrs of healthcare experience

all PA programs meet the same
science gpa cummulative gpa
typical applicant already has (Correct answer)
in general a Baccalaureate degree

Correct answer: typical applicant already has

The typical PA program applicant already has a bachelor's degree plus about four years of hands-on healthcare experience. The other options describe program accreditation standards or GPA requirements rather than the applicant's expected background.

Question 13: When was the Society for the Preservation of Physician Assistant History incorporated?

July 2002
October 2001
June 2001
January 17, 2002 (Correct answer)

Correct answer: January 17, 2002

The Society for the Preservation of Physician Assistant History was incorporated on January 17, 2002. The other dates are close but incorrect—this specific founding date is the documented one.

Question 14: Who was the first elected president of the Society for the Preservation of Physician Assistant History?

Dr. J. Jeffery Heinrich (Correct answer)
Dr. Michael Smith
Dr. John Doe
Dr. Reginald Carter

Correct answer: Dr. J. Jeffery Heinrich

Dr. J. Jeffery Heinrich was the first elected president of the Society for the Preservation of Physician Assistant History. The other names are not the documented founding leader of the organization.

Question 15: What materials are collected by the Physician Assistant History Society?

videos, movies, songs
books, novels, poems, plays
papers, manuscripts, magazine and newspaper clippings, newsletters, reports, dissertations, oral histories (Correct answer)
recipes, cooking tips, meal plans

Correct answer: papers, manuscripts, magazine and newspaper clippings, newsletters, reports, dissertations, oral histories

The PA History Society collects written and recorded historical materials—papers, manuscripts, magazine and newspaper clippings, newsletters, reports, dissertations, and oral histories. The other options (videos/songs, novels/poems, recipes) are not the documentary records used to preserve the profession's history.

Question 16: Which organization became a supporting organization of the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants in 2011?

American Academy of Physician Assistants
The PA History Society (Correct answer)
Duke University Medical Center
Association of Physician Assistant Programs

Correct answer: The PA History Society

The PA History Society became a supporting organization of the NCCPA in 2011, aligning its historical-preservation mission with the certifying body. The AAPA, Duke, and APAP play different roles and were not the supporting organization referenced here.

Free Physician Assistant General Information Questions and Answers

What position does PA have among US News and World Report's "top 100 jobs"?