As a primary care physician assistant, you are licensed to practice medicine and provide health care to patients under physician supervision. You help to diagnose and treat each patient that comes to your practice. Duties include ordering and interpreting tests, writing prescriptions, and assisting during surgery. You may also need to travel for this position. The essential elements of taking care of patients rarely change much from day to day, but the types of issues you treat are unpredictable, so doctors expect you to be flexible and stay informed through research.