The doctor will see you now-when a physician’s assistant can’t. Bakersfield College’s new doctor, William Baker, a Bakersfield doctor with a private practice, has replaced Dr. Michael Farber. Farber did not return to BC’s student health center due to contract problems last spring. Baker teaches a pathophysiology class for BC’s nursing program on Monday evenings and before he goes to teach his class reviews the charts made out by physician’s assistants, Matt Tate and Molly Waite, who are there on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Tate and Waite are graduates of both BC and Stanford. According to Baker, law requires that a physician must examine at least five percent of any chart made by a physician’s assistant.
If either of the two physician’s assistants cannot be at the center, Baker will make himself available to examine any health problems. The two assistants can prescribe and distribute medications, said Jo Acosta, department assistant for the center. Both Tate and Waite have their own licenses, and they are both under the license of Baker.
The health problems commonly addressed at the center are infections, colds, asthma, diabetes, blood pressure problems, stress-related problems and other primary care problems, said Baker.
Baker is the director for the thrombosis, hemostatis and special hemotology clinic at Kern Medical Center. He is also an associate professor at UCLA. He was a team physician for 30 years with Dr. Romain Clerou.
Baker said student patients without health insurance are often referred to Sagebrush Medical Clinic, which is affiliated with KMC.
Some students think this current arrangement is okay. “Outside of school, I see physician’s assistants, so I’m used to that,” said Valorie Farquharson, nursing major. “They can’t augment the services here, anyway.”
Some BC students don’t approve of the current arrangement, however.
“It’s kind of like having to pick a psychologist because you can’t have the psychiatrist,” said Ted Romero, 40, business administration.
“The doctor should be in Monday through Friday,” said Janene Wendrick, 22, child development major. “That $13 fee we pay should go toward the doctor being there every day for us.”