Physician Assistants

Summary

Physician assistants practice medicine under the supervision of physicians and surgeons.

Quick Facts: Physician Assistants
2010 Median Pay	$86,410 per year $41.54 per hour
Entry-Level Education	Master’s degree
Work Experience in a Related Occupation	None
On-the-job Training	None
Number of Jobs, 2010	83,600
Job Outlook, 2010-20	30% (Much faster than average)
Employment Change, 2010-20	24,700

What Physician Assistants Do

Physician assistants, also known as PAs, practice medicine under the direction of physicians and surgeons. They are formally trained to examine patients, diagnose injuries and illnesses, and provide treatment.

Work Environment

Physician assistants work in physicians’ offices, hospitals, and other healthcare settings. Most work full time.

How to Become a Physician Assistant

Most physician assistants have a bachelor’s degree. Then, they must complete an accredited educational program for physician assistants. That usually takes at least 2 years of full-time study and typically leads to a master’s degree. All states require physician assistants be licensed.

Pay

The median annual wage of physician assistants was $86,410 in May 2010.

Job Outlook

Employment of physician assistants is expected to increase 30 percent from 2010 to 2020, much faster than the average for all occupations. As more physicians enter specialty areas of medicine, there will be a greater need for primary healthcare providers, such as physician assistants.

Similar Occupations

Compare the job duties, education, job growth, and pay of physician assistants with similar occupations.

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Contacts for More Information

Learn more about physician assistants by contacting these additional resources.

What Physician Assistants Do About this section

Physician assistants provide diagnostic, therapeutic, and preventive healthcare services, as delegated by a physician.

Physician assistants, also known as PAs, practice medicine under the direction and supervision of physicians and surgeons. They are formally trained to examine patients, diagnose injuries and illnesses, and provide treatment.

Duties

Physician assistants typically do the following:

• Work under the supervision of a physician or surgeon
• Review patients’ medical histories
• Do physical exams to check patients’ health
• Order and interpret diagnostic tests, such as x rays or blood tests
• Make preliminary diagnoses concerning a patient’s injury or illness
• Provide treatment, such as setting broken bones and giving immunizations
• Counsel patients and their families; for example, answering questions about how to care for a child with asthma
• Prescribe medicine, when needed
• Record a patient’s progress
• Complete insurance paperwork

Physician assistants are different from medical assistants. Medical assistants do routine clinical and clerical tasks; they do not practice medicine. For more information, see the profile on medical assistants.

A physician assistant’s specific duties and the extent to which he or she must be supervised by physicians and surgeons differ from state to state.

Physician assistants work in all areas of medicine, including primary care and family medicine, emergency medicine, and psychiatry. The work of physician assistants depends in large part on their specialty and what their supervising physician needs them to do. For more information, see the profile on physicians and surgeons.

For example, a physician assistant working in surgery may close incisions and provide care before and after the operation. A physician assistant working in pediatrics may examine a child or give routine vaccinations.

In rural areas and inner cities, physician assistants may be the primary care providers at clinics where a physician is present only 1 or 2 days per week. In these locations, physician assistants confer with the physician and other healthcare workers as needed and as required by law.

Some physician assistants make house calls or visit nursing homes to treat patients, reporting back to the physician afterward.

Some physician assistants supervise medical technicians and medical assistants.

Work Environment About this section

Many physician assistants work in primary care specialties, such as general internal medicine, pediatrics, and family medicine.

Physician assistants held about 83,600 jobs in 2010.

As shown below, most physician assistants worked in physicians’ offices or hospitals in 2010:

Physician assistants spend much of their time on their feet, making rounds and evaluating patients. Physician assistants who work in operating rooms often stand for extended periods.

Work Schedules

Most physician assistants work full time. About 13 percent reported working 50 hours or more per week in 2010. In hospitals, physician assistants may work nights, weekends, or holidays. They may also be on call, meaning they must be ready to respond to a work request with little notice.

How to Become a Physician Assistant About this section

Physician assistants often treat minor injuries, instruct and counsel patients, and order or carry out therapy.

Physician assistants typically need a master's degree. Most applicants to master’s programs already have a bachelor’s degree and some work experience. Then, they must complete an accredited educational program for physician assistants. That usually takes at least 2 years of full-time study and typically leads to a master’s degree. All states require physician assistants to be licensed.

Education

Most applicants to physician assistant education programs already have a bachelor’s degree and some healthcare-related work experience. However, admissions requirements vary from program to program.

Many assistants already have experience as registered nurses, emergency medical technicians (EMTs), or paramedics before they apply to a physician assistant program. For more information, see the profiles on registered nurses and EMTs and paramedics.

Physician assistant education programs usually take at least 2 years of full-time study. In 2011, the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant accredited 165 education programs. Most of these accredited programs offer a master’s degree. Others offer a bachelor’s degree, and a very few award an associate’s degree or graduate certificate.

These physician assistant programs are at schools of allied health, academic health centers, medical schools, and 4-year colleges. A few are part of the military or are found at community colleges or hospitals.

Physician assistant education includes classroom and laboratory instruction in subjects such as pathology, human anatomy, physiology, clinical medicine, physical diagnosis, and medical ethics. The programs also include supervised clinical training in several areas, including family medicine, internal medicine, emergency medicine, and pediatrics. Many accredited programs have clinical teaching affiliations with medical schools.

Sometimes, students serve in one or more of these areas under the supervision of a physician who is looking to hire a physician assistant. In this way, the rotation may lead to permanent employment.

Important Qualities

Compassion. Many physician assistants are drawn to the profession by a desire to help people. They should enjoy helping others.

Detail oriented. Physician assistants should be focused and observant to properly evaluate patients and follow doctor’s orders.

Emotional stability. ­Physician assistants, particularly those working in surgery or emergency medicine, should be able to work well under pressure. They must remain calm in stressful situations to provide quality care.

Licenses

All states and the District of Columbia require physician assistants to be licensed. To become licensed, they must pass the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination from the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA). After they pass the exam, they may use the credential “Physician Assistant-Certified.”

Physician assistants must take continuing education to keep their license. Every 6 years, they must pass a recertification exam or complete an alternative program combining learning experience and a take-home exam.

Advancement

Some physician assistants pursue additional education in a specialty. Postgraduate educational programs are available in areas such as internal medicine, rural primary care, and occupational medicine. To enter one of these programs, a physician assistant must be a graduate of an accredited program and be certified by the NCCPA.

As they get greater clinical knowledge and experience, physician assistants can earn new responsibilities and higher wages. However, by the very nature of the profession, clinically practicing physician assistants always are supervised by physicians. For more information, see the profile on physicians and surgeons.

Pay About this section

The median annual wage of physician assistants was $86,410 in May 2010. The median annual wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $57,450, and the top 10 percent earned more than $117,720.

Median annual wages in the industries employing the largest numbers of physician assistants in May 2010 were as follows:

Most physician assistants work full time. In hospitals, physician assistants may work nights, weekends, or holidays. They may also be on call, meaning they must be ready to respond to a work request with little notice.

Job Outlook About this section

Employment of physician assistants is expected to increase 30 percent from 2010 to 2020, much faster than the average for all occupations.

As more physicians enter specialty areas of medicine, there will be a greater need for primary healthcare providers, such as physician assistants. Because physician assistants are more cost-effective than physicians, they are expected to have an increasing role in giving routine care.

Physician assistants also will be needed because the population in general is growing. More people means more need for healthcare specialists.

In addition, employment growth is expected because the large baby-boom generation is getting older. As they age, baby boomers will be increasingly susceptible to ailments and conditions such as heart attack, stroke, and diabetes. Physician assistants are expected to have an increasing role in keeping these people healthy and caring for them when they get ill.

Healthcare providers are also expected to use more physician assistants in new ways as states continue to allow assistants to do more procedures.

Job Prospects

Good job prospects are expected. This should be particularly true for physician assistants working in rural and medically underserved areas, as well as physician assistants working in primary care.

Contacts for More Information About this section

For more information on physician assistants, including a list of accredited programs, visit

American Academy of Physician Assistants 

For a list of accredited physician assistant programs, visit

Physician Assistant Education Association