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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 legislature overrode the veto, and the law enables nurse practitioners, nurse midwives and physician assistants to provide care.
—CBS News, 10 Oct. 2024
This vaccine is not required if the child has had chickenpox and has documentation of it from a physician, physician assistant or advanced practice nurse prescriber
2 doses of measles, mumps and rubella, or MMR, vaccine.
—Sarah Volpenhein, Journal Sentinel, 2 Aug. 2024
Other growth occupations include physician assistants, various other medical assistants, information-security analysts, data scientists, veterinary technicians, statisticians and solar equipment installers.
—Russ Wiles, The Arizona Republic, 3 Sep. 2024
Atul Grover, executive director of the Research and Action Institute at the Association of American Medical Colleges, said the numbers indicate there are probably ample NPs, physician assistants and physicians to meet primary-care demand in the future.
—Mckenzie Beard, Washington Post, 17 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for physician assistant
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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 14 Nov. 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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