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

Jenn Tran is back at school in Miami to become a physician assistant. —Brian Anthony Hernandez, People.com, 30 Mar. 2025

The health clinic is staffed with doctors and physician assistants who can write prescriptions for weight loss drugs such as Ozempic, Bushaw said. —Richard Requena, Chicago Tribune, 11 Mar. 2025

Now Haley Paolini is a physician assistant in the cardiac unit at Yale New Haven Hospital and fills in on weekends at the coat Bridgeport Hospital. —Pamela McLoughlin, Hartford Courant, 5 Mar. 2025

Parker said better ways to increase the number of rural doctors include raising pay, expanding loan repayment programs for those who practice in rural areas, and creating accelerated training for nurse practitioners and physician assistants who want to become doctors. —Arielle Zionts, NPR, 3 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1958, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for physician assistant

• coexistent
• equidistant
• inconsistent
• nonexistent
• preexistent
• consistent
• existent
• insistent
• persistent
• resistant
• subsistent
• distant

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