A Guide To Physician Assistant Jobs

Physician assistant jobs are in high demand now that the healthcare industry is witnessing a boom. The demand for physician assistants is steadily growing in both rural and urban areas, and here is a guide to the career.

The typical physician assistant has successfully completed course work in a 26-month specialized program after receiving a 4-year degree. Both this and some job experience is required. After their initial certification, a physician assistant must complete 100 hours of continuing education credits every two years along with the successful completion of a recertification exam every six years to retain their certification to practice.

The AAPA (American Association of Physician Assistants) and the NCCPA (National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants) are the two professional bodies in the field. The former regulates the field, while the latter administers and tracks certifications and continuing education credits.

Physician assistants are an important part of the doctor’s office. They are supervised by a licensed doctor, but also allowed to work independently inside the doctor's office. They need to have the ability to be within 1 hour of their doctor's call.

The diagnosis of x-rays and the analysis of labs are included in some of their responsibilities. Also, the physician assistant can assist patients with writing prescriptions for medications or therapy, examinations, as well as helping the doctor by listening to patients' needs, recording their history, and providing surgical assistance. Plus, the physician assistant must possess excellent communication skills as he has to interact with patients most of the time.

Spending most of their time on their feet, physician assistants do a vast majority of attending to and interacting with the patients. Assistants who are part of a surgical team are the busiest of the lot. Being one of the more demanding jobs, it requires the ability to handle large amounts of stress and the ability to have a flexible life that can bend around a schedule that often requires late hours, nights, weekends, and holidays. Physical and mental stress must be handled in a cool and calm manner by the physician assistant due to the fact if they show it on their face they will most likely panic the patient.

Physician assistants are allowed to perform many tasks, however each American state has different guidelines as to which ones they can perform. In order to know the exact job responsibilities for that state, you will want to refer to that state's employment website.

The growth in availability of physician assistant jobs is expected to be more rapid than in other industries. The need for physician assistants is much higher in hospitals, clinics, prisons, and many other facilities both in urban and rural areas. It is estimated that the growth in demand for physician assistants will rise 39% between 2008 and 2018 according to a report published in 2008 by the government. The simultaneous evolution and cost lowering that is happening in the healthcare industry is the cause of the increased demand. On of the ways that the healthcare industry is maintaining the quality of service and productivity is by appointing physician assistants. The higher demand for professionals is also driven by each state allowing physician assistants to perform more medical procedures.

The following are the factors that determine the physician assistant salary:

Specialization: Choosing to specialize in complicated medical conditions like HIV, AIDS, or cancer will often lead a physician assistant to a higher salary than one who can handle normal medical conditions. Physical assistants that have specialized in a certain condition or field often have a salary that exceeds the maximum figure (given below) and are in high demand.

Area: Often it is found that the pay for healthcare professionals is lower in rural areas than it is in urban centers. The density of the population surrounding an urban center can affect the pay as it is often found that centers that have a higher density of population pay more. So, one factor that determines salaries is the cost of living, which is higher in the urban areas.

Another factor is experience. The more experience that a physician assistant has the higher salary that they will receive.

As per Salary.com, physician assistants earn anything between $75,000 and $106,000 yearly. A more realistic average would be between $65,000 and $90,000, give or take a few exceptions. Remember, that specialization counts and so, specialized physician assistants can expect to get a higher salary. Pay differs between different facilities of which hospitals and outpatient centers will be the highest paying while government and educational facilities pay the lowest. Remember, the pay at urban centers will often be higher than the pay that is offered in rural areas.

It is also expected that a physician assistant's employer will pay for their professional liability insurance, state licensing fees, registration fees, and credential fees.

Physician assistants can choose to specialize in handling critical medical conditions like HIV/AIDS, neonatology, cancer, etc. Professionals that have a specialization in a critical medical condition will often be paid a much higher salary, as was mentioned above. Many schools offer specialization programs in specialties like surgery, cancer, HIV, neonatology, pediatrics, emergency medicine, and more.

This allows a physician assistant to specialize in areas like emergency medicine, rural primary care, or occupational medicine by enrolling in a postgraduate residency training program.

A physician assistant pay increases with time and experience. However, the assistant must always remain under the supervision of a licensed doctor.

There are many advantages for a physician assistant like not attending medical school, no need for a grueling internship, and they are more mobile between specialties. On top of that, the career can be rewarding and self-satisfying because they still can help people heal and recover from major and minor medical conditions.

No two days are the same in the life of a PA because each day poses new challenges and learning opportunities. A physician assistant can never be an entrepreneur because he can only work under the supervision of a licensed doctor.

This concludes the guide and contains all you need to know about a job as a physician assistant.