Physician assistants are health care professionals licensed to practice medicine with physician supervision. For a complete text of the West Virginia State Code covering Physician Assistants, please click here. As part of their comprehensive responsibilities, PAs conduct physical exams, diagnose and treat illnesses, order and interpret tests, counsel on preventive health care, assist in surgery, and in most states can write prescriptions. PAs are trained in intensive education programs accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA). Within West Virginia there are two accredited programs: