Physician assistants/associates are licensed clinicians who practice medicine in every specialty and setting. Physician assistants examine, diagnose, order studies, create treatment plans, and prescribe medications under the supervision of a physician.
Currently ranked in the top 5 in the U.S. News and World Report overall best jobs, the physician assistant profession is growing at a rapid pace. Physician assistants provide many of the same services as physicians and fill a need for increased demand for healthcare services due to a booming population, especially among the elderly. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics, physician assistant employment is projected to grow 28% from 2021 to 2031, much faster than the average for all occupations. This potentially could jump higher due to the excellent rating scores physician assistants attain for work-life balance, job versatility, competitive salary, and overall satisfaction.
Physician assistant programs are master’s degree level programs that average 27 months in duration. After graduation, physician assistants are required to pass a certifying exam administered by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA).
If you are interested in pursuing this benefit-loaded occupation, continue reading the following roadmap of how to become a physician assistant.
Education Requirements
To become a physician assistant, you will need to graduate from an Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) approved master’s degree program. Acceptance to a physician assistant school is complicated and admission is determined by many variables. To begin, there are necessary pre-requisites. The pre-requisites are very specific to each physician assistant program. However, all physician assistant schools require the following science courses:
General Chemistry: two semesters or three quarters with one lab term
Biology: two semesters or three quarters with one lab term
Microbiology: one semester or two quarters with one lab term
Anatomy: one semester or two quarters with one lab term
Physiology: one semester or two quarters with one lab term
And non-science classes:
English: two semesters or three quarters
Statistics: one semester or two quarters
Psychology: one semester or two quarters
Entering the physician assistant profession has become a very popular choice of graduating undergraduate students, and attaining the minimum pre-requisites detailed above often is not enough to gain acceptance to a program. Your options also can be limited as some physician assistant schools have more extensive and stricter pre-requisite demands.
To become a stronger physician assistant candidate, it is recommended to expand your coursework to include:
Organic Chemistry: one semester or two quarters with one lab term
Biochemistry: one semester or two quarters with one lab term
Genetics: one semester or two quarters
Foreign Language and/or Medical Terminology: two semesters
These “extra” courses often align with pre-med or pre-dental tracts offered at the majority of undergraduate schools. That is a good starting point given many colleges do not have a set pre-PA program. Some schools will have a pre-physician assistant club as an alternative way for students to obtain further guidance on how to become a physician assistant.
Obtaining all the pre-requisites is easier when they are built into a specific major. This begs the question, what is the best major for physician assistant school? While there is no correct answer to this question, there are many things to consider to avoid weakening your application and other future problems.
Maintaining a high GPA is one of the best strategies to ensure acceptance into a physician assistant program. Schools will evaluate your science, non-science, BCP total (biology, chemistry, and physics), and cumulative GPA. A cutoff cumulative base GPA value of 3.0 is the standard to apply to a physician assistant school. It is therefore clever to choose a major that satisfies all, or the majority of, the pre-requisites while allowing you to obtain the highest grade point average possible.
Healthcare adjacent majors, such as kinesiology or health science, typically offer a lighter course load than the core sciences. The challenge here is to ensure you meet all the pre-requisites. Building a gap year(s) between undergraduate and physician assistant school is an alternative strategy to finish all the pre-requisities, retake any classes if needed, and work on acquiring more healthcare hours. However, this comes at the expense of time and finances.
Overall, all applicants to a physician assistant school will be considered despite their major. However, most applicants completed one of the core sciences or were a health science major as they offer the best paths to finish the pre-requisities in a timely manner.
Tips for Selecting the Right Physician Assistant Program
The growth of the profession has led to the creation of numerous new physician assistant schools providing more opportunity for students to find their right fit. Subtle differences between the programs can be viewed as an advantage. It is recommended a physician assistant candidate target potential programs based on their specific preferences. Initially, review which physician assistant programs are accredited by the ARC-PA (Accreditation and Review Commission on Physician Assistant Education). Newer physician assistant schools can be provisional, meaning they have not yet graduated a cohort of students. This carries some risk if they fail to eventually achieve designated standards.
Another criteria to consider is geography. Physician assistant students tend to perform better if they have a social support system in close proximity. Regional cultures are also different in each location. And ultimately, where you attend physician assistant school increases the likelihood of potential employment in that area following your training. Do you foresee yourself remaining there early in your career?
Cost should always be considered. Physician assistant school is expensive and education prices continue to rise. It is important to factor in additional charges outside of tuition. This includes moving fees, rental payments, review classes, books, and equipment. There are online calculators to assist with this process.
The physician assistant schools themselves have intervariability. Although each has to meet standards established by the ARC-PA, chronologic and structural deviations of the curriculum are present. Be aware of the program start date as they do not all fall on the same timeline. Often there can be an extended delay between CASPA submission deadlines and the physician assistant school start date. Look further into the targeted physician assistant school for class size, experience of the faculty, and type of instructional techniques. Differences continue in regards if the physician assistant school offers cadaver anatomy, the amount of research required, and supplemental training like simulation labs.
Following the didactic year, clinical rotations begin and are not equivalent. Slots for physician assistant students are difficult to obtain with competition from MD, DO, and NP students. They are limited in areas with many of these other programs. Physician assistant programs affiliated with academic health centers typically have a built-in advantage to pivot within that system, however, do not assume this will be the case. It is recommended you always inquire deeper, including if there will be distant sites to travel to, how many and which specialty fields are offered as electives, and if there are private practice settings. Some physician assistant programs will also unknowingly require a rotation in a medically underserved area. Explore the physician assistant program’s website or ask current students for advice before making the decision to apply.
PA School Admission Process
The physician assistant admission process goes through CASPA (Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants). CASPA simplifies the task by allowing you to apply to multiple programs by completing ONE application. CASPA has an “open application cycle” from mid-April through March of the following year. To use this application, you need to go to the website and establish an account.
From there, you will complete questions pertaining to demographic information, academic history, work experience, healthcare certifications, awards and honors received, professional memberships, references, standardized test scores, and a personal essay detailing your interest in the physician assistant profession. Official transcripts will be submitted to CASPA as well as 3-5 letters of recommendation. The information is then shared with each physician assistant school the candidate wishes to apply. There is a one time fee of $177.00 for a single school with an additional cost of $51.00 for each subsequent school added. Each physician assistant program might require supplemental information, essays, and fees with a secondary deadline date.
Before attempting to complete CASPA, it is wise to evaluate if you will be considered a serious candidate for a physician assistant school based on the below requirements:
GPA: Science, non-science, BCP total (biology, chemistry, and physics), and cumulative GPA are the four categories CAPSA divides your grades. The cutoff minimum is typically a 3.0 with a C grade or higher in the science classes. The science GPA carries more influence in the selection process. Given the growing interest in the physician assistant profession, it has become more competitive and the 2022 PAEA (Physician Assistant Education Association) data revealed the following statistics for GPA averages of accepted physician assistant students: average cumulative GPA 3.6, average science GPA 3.5, average non-science GPA 3.6, and average CASPA (BCP) 3.5.
GRE: Standardized tests are not required by physician assistant programs, but over half of the schools ask for the GRE (Graduate Record Examination). You have the ability to take the GRE multiple times within a year and only have to release your best score. It therefore allows the applicant the opportunity to improve their selection odds, especially if your GPA is average or lower. The PAEA reported the average 2023 scores of physician assistant matriculants were: verbal reasoning 153.7, quantitative reasoning 153.1, and writing 4.1. A score of > 300 was considered “safe” and > 310 was competitive. Taking a GRE prep course and allowing yourself time for potential retakes are ways to maximize your scores.
Healthcare Experience: Academically succeeding is not enough to get into a physician assistant school. Healthcare experience hours are required, although the trend is now less weight is placed on this requirement as was initially intended when the physician assistant profession developed from medics in the military. Each physician assistant school will cite their required hours. An important distinction to note on CASPA is the difference between direct patient care versus healthcare experience.
Direct patient care is considered more important and, as suggested by the name, is a position where you have responsibility in the treatment of patients. These include being a registered nurse, respiratory therapist, phlebotomist, certified nurse aide/assistant (CNA), emergency medical technician (EMT), or dietitian. Healthcare positions can be paid or unpaid work, and you are not directly responsible for a patient’s care. A medical coder, researcher, or scribe would fall into this category. Most accepted applicants will have > 3,000 patient care experience hours and/or > 1,500 healthcare experience hours.
One year of full time work is the timeframe needed to accumulate 2,000 hours. If you are not planning a gap year(s) and want to apply directly from undergraduate school, you will need to maximize experience hours over the summer months and through part time jobs. Acquiring positions with brief training to get certified, like medical assistant, CNA, or EMT, would be essential. Even if your patient care hours are low, acceptance to a physician assistant school is possible as programs require different minimum amounts. If denied admission, this would be an area of improvement for the next application cycle. Track your hours diligently and regularly update to ensure they are correct.
Other areas of experience one can include on CASPA and help strengthen your application are shadowing hours (average > 200), volunteer work (average > 500), lab research, prior leadership positions, teaching experience (tutor), and all extracurricular activities relating to academic societies or healthcare clubs.
Physician Assistant School Essay: The 5,000 character CASPA personal essay detailing “your desire to become a physician assistant” is a great way to stand out amongst your competition. It provides a unique opportunity for the reader to learn more about you and what you can bring to their physician assistant program. If written well, it can advance you to the interview stage. If you need assistance writing this portion, please contact me for guidance.
Physician Assistant Letter of Recommendations: Improve your application by selecting strong candidates to write positive words about you in a letter of recommendation. The best individuals are ones you have professionally known for a long duration, ones that have witnessed you at work with direct patient care, and ones who practice medicine, including physician assistants. It is advisable to make the writer’s job easier by providing them with an updated resume and a list of your achievements. A poorly written letter with little information can negatively impact your chances of acceptance.
It takes preparation, organization, time, effort, and perseverance to accomplish all the tasks needed to become a physician assistant. Plan accordingly and always note deadlines. A general timeline would look like:
PA School Timeline
January-March:
- Familiarize yourself with the physician assistant application process
- Take the GRE
- Select the writers of your letters of recommendation
- Evaluate if you meet the physician assistant pre-requisites
April-July
- CASPA opens in April
- Complete the application process
- Submit transcripts after spring grades
- Finish any supplemental physician assistant program requirements
August-December
- Interview stage
Following January-March
- Await and accept offers
- Waitlist is a possibility
- Enroll in the physician assistant school of your choice
Late Summer-Fall
- Begin physician assistant school
PA School Curriculum
Physician assistant schools offer a master’s degree and the program utilizes a model of training similar to medical school. Focusing on a disease specific approach, the human body is viewed as a complex mechanical system with abnormalities of anatomy, biochemistry, and physiology causing medical conditions. Students are trained to utilize clinical sciences and place an emphasis on pathology to assess, diagnose, and treat. Physician assistant students need to complete 2,000 hours of supervised training in several disciplines including family medicine, internal medicine, general surgery, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, emergency medicine, and psychiatry. Educated as medical generalists, they learn skills in all areas of medicine and for all patients, regardless of age or gender.
Similar to the variability in pre-requisite requirements, each physician assistant school differs somewhat in the delivery of the curriculum while achieving the accreditation standards set by the ARC-PA (Accreditation and Review Commission on Physician Assistant Education). The didactic year is the first part of PA school and lectures can be taught traditionally in the classroom by a speaker or through smaller team based group work focusing on medical cases and problem solving diagnostic techniques. Most physician assistant schools will employ a combination of the strategies, but it would be diligent to determine if a specific school of interest operates heavily in one manner or the other to play to your learning strengths.
Another difference is the construct of the curriculum. Most PA schools use modules based on specific organ systems. All classes, including anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, physical exam, and clinical medicine, are timed to be taught together. There are a few PA schools that are structured to be taught in an asynchronous format. The material covered is not necessarily aligned to focus on one system, but rather is staggered throughout the year. This is especially true of additional material, such as ethics, professional practice policies, and research, which do not necessarily fit into a specific module.
The didactic year is academically loaded and students should plan on spending the majority of time in the classroom interacting with one another. Larger class sizes offer more diversity at the cost of less one on one instruction. Frequently students will form study groups to help divide the intense workload and prepare for exams. Tests are usually computer based and delivered at the end of modules. Each student’s progress is monitored by the program and minimum GPA requirements are expected to proceed into the second year. Besides computer based tests, some PA schools utilize OSCEs (Objective Structured Clinical Examinations) which evaluate a student’s skills in a monitored environment. A clinical scenario is presented and each student will need to perform history taking, a physical exam, lab interpretation, and clinical reasoning either on mannequins or live patient models. Competency scores, including communication, are measured and designed to identify deficiencies within a student prior to starting clinicals.
Clinical rotations are the majority of the second part of the PA program. Each student will rotate through the seven aforementioned core disciplines in either an inpatient or outpatient setting, or both. Program diversity is paramount here with some more established schools having set rotations and electives while newer programs are continuing to find slots for their students. Additionally, a proximity to schools offering NP, MD, and DO degrees will mean more competition for opportunities.
Physician assistant schools aligned with academic centers may or may not have built in rotations so double check prior to assuming you will be doing your rotations at that facility. Often, given the lack of available positions, you will need to travel to different sites. This can be a surprise, as is the ability to obtain specific electives you have interest in acquiring further training. These are great questions to ask during the interview stage and ultimately factor into making your final decision of the program you wish to attend. You will be largely independent during clinicals and not interact as much with your classmates or instructors. At the end of each 4 week rotation, you will be evaluated by your preceptor and usually take a performance exam back on campus.
Overall, physician assistants are trained as generalists so job opportunities will be available to all graduates in all disciplines despite not getting as much training as your peers. A great way to supplement your knowledge and experience, if you feel like you are deficient, is to apply to a post graduate fellowship focused on your area of interest. It builds both your resume and confidence levels.
Research and board preparation round out the other criteria distinguishing PA schools from one another. Every student will now receive a master’s degree, however the means to acquire that degree through research varies. Some programs expect a review of literature, formulation of a thesis, IRB (Institutional Review Board) approval to conduct a study on human subjects, statistical analysis of results, and finally a discussion and presentation of your findings. This is a time consuming process and needs to be started during the first year to allow enough calendar days to achieve completion. Additionally, you need to know what resources the school provides, including statisticians and mentors, to assist you with the process. Other PA programs are not as research heavy and expect only a scholarly paper or work on a project. Pending your interest in research, it is highly recommended you inquire what is expected of you prior to matriculation.
Lastly, comes the PANCE (Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam) board review. After a student has met all their degree requirements, they are in the last stages of study prior to employment. Almost all programs offer some type of review class, although if mandatory, this will likely be an additional fee. Students often ask the success rate on PANCE to determine a program’s overall competence, however the numbers can be statistically fooling as a smaller program with one failure will have a bigger drop than a larger program with multiple failures. The overall success rates are high despite the PA school, and usually are student dependent
There are different tips to pass along to students to survive PA school and conquer the boards. The majority of students accepted to a program already have the fundamental tools to succeed otherwise they would not have made it that far. Adjusting to the rapid pace of the program and intensity of information can still be overwhelming.
TIme management, organization, and preparation are extremely important. Utilize the learning strategies that work best for you. Create and adhere to schedules. Lean on your classmates for support if you find group learning helpful. Focus on high yield information and the PANCE blueprints as thoroughly learning all the material suggested is virtually impossible.
Begin to hone your professional behavior including being punctual, respectful, team oriented, and attentive to detail. Start thinking more analytically and increase the speed you process information and make an informed decision. Communicate your feelings and concerns, especially to your instructors. This will allow them time to find resources to assist you, if needed. Mentally prepare for the difficult challenge and reward yourself after small accomplishments while maintaining your focus on the end prize. Finally, realize there will be mistakes made along the way but use those as constructive learning lessons for improvement to become a highly trained provider. Better to make errors in school than during your career.
PA Certification
Once a student has completed an accredited physician assistant program and graduated, they are eligible to take the computer-based Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE). It consists of 300 multiple-choice questions; administered in five different blocks of 60 questions over 60 minutes. Once a block is completed, you will not be able to return to that portion of the exam. The PANCE has a minimum score of 200, maximum score of 800, and most importantly, a passing score of 350. To register, a student pays a $550 fee and schedules a time and date at a Pearson VUE testing center.
According to the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA), the exam is categorized in two dimensions:
- Knowledge of the diseases and disorders physician assistants encounter
- Knowledge of skills related to tasks physician assistants perform when treating patients
Starting in 2019, the NCCPA released a blueprint to guide students as they prepared for the PANCE. It divides the material into 14 organ systems and specifies which disease processes will be tested. Medical and surgical content accounts for 95% of the exam with professional practice comprising the remaining 5%. The statistical breakdown is as follows:
MEDICAL CONTENT | PERCENTAGE |
Cardiovascular | 13% |
Dermatologic | 5% |
Endocrine | 7% |
ENT | 7% |
Gastrointestinal/Nutrition | 9% |
Genitourinary (male and female) | 5% |
Hematologic | 5% |
Infectious Disease | 6% |
Musculoskeletal | 8% |
Neurologic | 7% |
Psychiatry/Behavioral Science | 6% |
Pulmonary | 10% |
Renal | 5% |
Reproductive System (male and female) | 7% |
All medical content questions are then coded to one of the following task areas (with the exception of the 5% professional practice category):
TASK CATEGORIES | PERCENTAGE |
History Taking and Performing Physical Exam | 17% |
Using Diagnostic and Laboratory Studies | 12% |
Formulating Most Likely Diagnosis | 18% |
Managing Patients | |
-Health Maintenance, Patient Education, and Prevention | 10% |
-Clinical Intervention | 14% |
-Pharmaceutical Therapeutics | 14% |
Applying Basic Scientific Concepts | 10% |
Professional Practice | 5% |
As a PANCE testing barometer as well as for curriculum evaluation of a program, the majority of physician assistant schools utilize the Physician Assistant Clinical Knowledge Rating and Assessment Tool (PACKRAT). It is a 4-hour self-assessment tool consisting of 225 questions based on a blueprint similar to the PANCE. It is not intended to be used for grading purposes but rather to identify weaknesses in a student compared to a national average. It is often administered after the didactic portion is completed. A score of 150 or greater carries a high likelihood of successfully passing the PANCE exam. Given the different number of questions, the following equation is used to gauge an equivalent PANCE score:
PANCE SCORE = [PACKRAT x 5.74] – 287.47
Study sheets are available on my website for both the PACKRAT and PANCE. They can also be helpful with preparing for exams during the didactic year.
PA Continued Education and Licensing
After achieving a passing score on PANCE and becoming certified, physician assistants are obliged to complete 100 hours of continuing medical education (CME) and pay a fee every two years. Additionally, they must pass a recertifying exam every 10 years. At least fifty hours of the CME credit during each two year cycle must be of category 1. As defined by the AAPA (American Academy of Physician Assistants), CME 1 consists of clinical and professional education activities that serve to maintain, develop or increase the knowledge, skills, and professional performance that a PA uses to provide services for patients, the public, and the profession. Usually they consist of self assessment and performance improvement projects, as well as information taught and approved by one of the following designated sponsors:
- American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA)
- American Medical Association (AMA)
- American Osteopathic Association Council on Continuing Medical Education (AOACCME)
- American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP)
- Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME)
- Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC)
- College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC)
- European Union of Medical Specialists/European Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (UEMS/EACCME)
Category 2 CME credit is earned by any educational activity that relates to medicine, patient care, or the role of the PA that is not designated to category I credit. This includes such activities as journal reading and personal knowledge acquisition via textbooks.
The 10 year recertification exam can be one of two choices. The first, PANRE (Physician Assistant National Recertifying Exam), is the traditional test that is administered in one setting at a Pearson VUE center. It consists of 4 blocks of 60 questions with 60 minutes to complete each block. You are allotted 45 minutes of total break time and 15 minutes to view a tutorial, thereby making the total exam schedule 5 hours. The alternative and newer option is PANRE-LA (Physician Assistant National Recertifying Examination-Longitudinal Assessment). This exam is administered over 12 quarters and your score is based on your best 8 quarters. Each quarter consists of 25 questions with 5 minutes to answer each. You receive immediate feedback if a response is correct, and are provided an explanation of the right response. If you answer incorrectly, subsequent questions in the following quarters will focus on those topics to ensure you improved your knowledge in those deficient areas.
Both CME and recertification testing must be achieved or your PA license is ineligible for renewal and you will be unable to practice. You should retain records as occasionally there are audits to ensure compliance. Meeting these requirements only allows a PA to work; it does not define the PA scope of practice. This is done by each state’s legislature and a physician assistant should be aware of each state’s policies.
The majority of states hold the same guidelines with a physician assistant needing to practice under the direction and supervision of a physician. There are differences in state licensure procedures, the time to process license approval, amount of fees due, and supplemental material required including letters of recommendation and interviews. Further differences lie in each state’s PA practice laws including if a PA has full prescriptive authority for all scheduled medications, the percentage of chart co-signatures required, the number of physician assistants a physician can supervise, and physician proximity to a practicing physician assistant.
Recently the AAPA House of Delegates has been pursuing optimal team practice (OTP) or a system where physician assistants, physicians, and other healthcare professionals work together to provide quality care without burdensome administrative constraints. They currently have independent practice authority in 2 states. This is a promising endeavor to look forward to in the upcoming years.
Job Opportunities for PAs
There are > 150,000 licensed physician assistants employed in all 50 states. The majority are employed in patient care roles within all healthcare settings and disciplines including hospitals, community clinics, private practice, surgical centers, mental health facilities, the armed forces, and nursing homes. Trained as generalists, they can enter family medicine or choose to specialize in any field. In some environments, they act as the principal care providers, and with the scope of practice expanding in most of the United States, this will likely continue to develop. Some physician assistants are non-clinical and transition into educational roles, administrative, managerial or leadership positions, and research.
Wherever there are medical doctors and surgeons, you can expect to find physician assistants. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, there will be a deficiency of 120,000 doctors by 2030. Physician assistants are primed to bridge the gap and fill a major void. This equates to job availability, stability, and enormous growth of the profession over the next decade. Because physician assistants are trained more rapidly, they can begin entering the health field and impact the lives of patients at a quicker pace and for a smaller financial investment.
The smaller debt burden and high salary potential, are attracting strong candidates to enter the physician assistant profession. The versatility of this pathway is also enticing as physician assistants are qualified to work in all settings and specialties without the need for additional certifications or training. Surveys have shown that about 50% of physician assistants, on average, have switched specialties to try their hand at something new and challenging. Without the need for extended residencies or as much on call time as physicians, physician assistants are also able to achieve a better work-life balance. The rates of burnout and stress are low. You have the ability to practice medicine and influence lives while also enjoying your own personal time. The impact is not marginal either with growing evidence that physician assistants improve access to healthcare, increase patient satisfaction scores, and are cost effective.
This translates into better compensation for physician assistants with a typical salary average of $121,530 per the 2021 Bureau of Labor Statistics. Those in the highest 10% bracket exceed $162,000. Physician assistants working in specific specialties will earn more than generalists, and as expected, experienced physician assistants achieve greater incomes. There are also differences between states with averages higher in different locations. Comparably, the Bureau of Labor Statistics cites the median physician salary is $208,000 with family medicine doctors averaging $235,930. Physicians trained in specialties greatly increase their earning potential but considering physician assistants can be employed in the same work environment without the extended length of training and ongoing time commitment, it seems like a fair trade off.
Advancing Your PA Career
Your first job after obtaining your physician assistant license will likely not be your last. The versatility of the profession and incredible job opportunities often lure physician assistants to new challenges and positions. These changes are often lateral and within the scope of practice of patient care. However, there are opportunities for advancement beyond your master’s degree and board certification.
After graduating, a physician assistant might decide to enter a fellowship for additional training within a certain specialty. They are offered in all domains including general surgery and all associated subspecialties, emergency medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, internal medicine, hospitalist medicine, critical care and trauma, dermatology, hematology and oncology, psychiatry, geriatrics, and pediatrics. Programs are usually 12 months in duration and a candidate will expand their education with further didactic training as well as guided clinical skill instruction. It is a great opportunity to gain more knowledge and experience while at the same time improving the odds of getting your dream job position.
The National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) also offers Certificate of Added Qualifications (CAQ) in seven specialty areas: psychiatry, cardiovascular and thoracic surgery, emergency medicine, nephrology, hospital medicine, pediatrics, and orthopedic surgery. These certifications help increase wages and solidify yourself as an expert in your field. They require 1-2 years of experience in the chosen specialty, proof of demonstration of specific skills, and passage of an exam. Ultimately a physician assistant can also choose to advance to a doctoral degree with some universities offering a degree in either medical science or physician assistant studies.
Besides advanced certifications and degrees, physician assistants can climb the ladder to higher aspirations by acquiring roles in non-clinical capacities. With the growth of the profession, there is an evolving need for leadership and management to direct all the mid level providers employed by a healthcare facility, including nurse practitioners. A lead physician assistant will supervise their peers, be accountable for training and professional growth, create schedules, enforce disciplinary action, hire staff, develop standards of practice, monitor compliance, and implement in-service programs amongst a host of other tasks. They often report to a medical physician and represent the team of physician assistants that work at that specific institution.
If a business model isn’t an ideal role, a physician assistant can also explore a job in academia. Some will require advanced degrees or certifications, but openings are available without these qualifications. The Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA) is a reliable resource to obtain information if you are pursuing a career path involving teaching future physician assistants.
Countless other potential options are available including participating in clinical trials and research, organizing mission volunteer trips, procuring positions involving medical informatics in this technology dependent age, and working with public health agencies to develop policies to expand healthcare access and provide education to the community.
The American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) and your state physician assistant association are great places to network. Interacting with other physician assistants helps build relationships and gather information if you are seeking more than clinical work. Additionally, membership assists with future legislative processes that will bring forth further autonomy for the physician assistant in the upcoming years.
Getting a Physician Assistant Mentor
Online resources, shadowing, and communication with licensed physician assistants are great ways to learn about the profession and acquire a roadmap to guide you from the application stage through licensure. The pathway seems straightforward and is quite possible to achieve on your own. However, pitfalls and poor decisions can negatively affect a potential student and lead to frustration, denial, or time and financial loss. Having a physician assistant mentor can steer you through the process, answer your questions, and quell any concerns.
A physician assistant mentor acts as an advisor to the less experienced student. They understand your current position as they once walked the same route. What might be confusing to you, is crystal clear to the well-trained physician assistant. And more so, they want to help and see you succeed. It is not a hierarchical relationship, but a partnership where the mentor-mentee both have the opportunity to grow as individuals, further their networks, and learn new things from each other.
This association has been a standard practice amongst medical students and physicians for years. Successful physicians often point out to younger colleagues that they obtained their current level of accomplishment with the help of an admired mentor along the way. Given the similar structure of the physician assistant program to the medical model, it translates that it would also be successful in the PA profession.
It is advisable to find a mentor prior to physician assistant school or during the didactic year, however mentorship can be useful even for a graduate or newly licensed physician assistant. The benefits are invaluable and include clarifying questions, providing inside information, assisting professional growth, holding you accountable, supplying encouragement, establishing network connections, and offering constructive criticism from a trusted source.
A mentor should be a physician assistant you admire, strive to be like, and that holds a position you envision yourself in one day. Typically you have observed them in practice. Ask them for advice but not necessarily to “mentor you”. If they take an interest in you, the process will develop from there. If there is nobody willing or you haven’t found the right person, seeking online assistance is also recommended. There are physician assistants willing to help. Utilize this resource to your benefit. Odds are you will not regret it.
In conclusion, becoming a physician assistant has become extremely competitive due to the challenging, yet rewarding, aspects of the job. The application process is arduous and small deficiencies can have a large impact ultimately limiting your chance of acceptance. Choosing the right school is also important as all are slightly different and offer unique opportunities. Acquiring a mentor can allow you to maneuver the system in a more efficient manner while at the same time providing a springboard for your career. Best of luck in your journey! Comments are welcome below and don’t hesitate to contact me for further input.