the hospital here is beautiful, but we have seen more landscapers there than doctors. actually, after 3 visits there, we have never seen a doctor, even in passing which was worrisome. the one time we used the ER we did not see an MD, and RN or even an LPN, in the 4 hrs we were there, but a "Physician's Assistant"- who informed me the gross total of her education was a couple years at a local community college- who FAXED (you heard that right, not emailed a digital file, FAXED) a copy of my MRI to a radiologist.
Sorry your experience at the ER wasn't what you had hoped. We have had the opposite experience at the hospital. The 3 times we've had to use the ER we've seen an MD each time, and a lot quicker than when we lived in a big city. They all seemed very knowledgeable and caring.
The Physician's Assistants that I know have a 4 year degree and 2 years in a PA program.