JAMES WORTHAM, P.A.

In visiting Gordon Spine Associates, you will likely have the pleasure of meeting physician assistant James Wortham. James is skilled at assisting in the diagnosis and treatment of patients.

James and his wife Jill have two sons and a daughter. As a family, they enjoy sports and music. James also plays guitar in a band and records in his home studio.

What is a Physician Assistant?
The Physician Assistant (PA) profession was founded in the early 1960's when Army corpsmen began returning from Vietnam. The first PA program was started at Duke University to provide formal training to these highly experienced veterans. These firsts were trained to assess, diagnose, implement treatment plans, and assist in surgery. From the 1960's to the present the PA profession has grown tremendously. There are now 120 PA programs around the country and more than 40,000 practicing PA's.

Today, PA's are still trained under the same medical model as doctors. In addition, the curriculum emphasizes development of interpersonal skills to ensure better communication and care for patients. PA's interview, examine, diagnose, assist during operative procedures and hospital rounds, and take calls after office hours. PA's are trained to perform all of these duties under the supervision of their sponsoring physician(s).