title: The aeromedical physician assistant.
abstract: The US Army aeromedical physician assistant (PA) serves aviation units in regards to crewmember medical readiness. All PAs are graduates of a 6-week flight surgeon course. They are responsible for conducting nearly 40% of the annual US Army flight physicals. This unique training and deployment illustrates the growing adaptability of PAs to assume a greater role in military medicine.
authors.affiliation: Joshua Radi is a PA in aeromedicine in the Michigan Army National Guard and practices orthopedic trauma surgery in Chicago, Ill. At the time of this project, Michael Brisson was director of the US Army flight surgeon primary course at Fort Rucker, Ala. Michael Line is a PA in aeromedicine in the Michigan Army National Guard assigned to aviation medicine headquarters. The views/opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Department of the Army and/or the Department of Defense. The authors have disclosed no potential conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise.
authors.forename: Joshua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Radi
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brisson
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Line
mesh_terms: D000337:Aerospace Medicine; D006801:Humans; D008887:Military Medicine; D008889:Military Personnel; D010808:Physical Examination; D010823:Physician Assistants; D066231:Surgeons