Physician Assistant Jobs Are On The Rise

The healthcare industry is witnessing boom times and naturally, physician assistant jobs are on a roll. Here is a guide to the physician assistants career which is growing in demand in both rural and urban areas.

Typically, physician assistants are required to complete a 26-month training program after they successfully obtain a 4-year college degree and get some job experience. 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 doctors office. They are supervised by a licensed doctor, but also allowed to work independently inside the doctor's office. They must be within 1 hour of their doctor's call.

They help in diagnosis and analyzing lab reports including x-rays. Some of their other duties include helping their doctor by listening to patients, recording patients' history, deciding treatment options, writing prescriptions for medication or therapy, perform patient examinations, and assist in surgical procedures. On top of that, excellent communication skills need to be in a physician assistant's repertoire because they will be interacting 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. Some of the busiest assistants are those who are part of a surgical team. This is not an easy job - it requires handling stress and working late nights, weekends and holidays. The physician assistant must handle all physical and mental stress with a cool and calm that does not show on his face because that may panic the patient.

The tasks that a physician assistant can perform vary in each American state. So, if you want to know the exact job responsibilities, refer to your states employment website.

It is expected that physician assistant jobs will grow more rapidly in availability compared to other jobs. The need for physician assistants is much higher in hospitals, clinics, prisons, and many other facilities both in urban and rural areas. As per a government report published in 2008-end, it is estimated that physician assistants jobs are expected to grow by 39% from 2008 to 2018. The increased demand is caused by the simultaneous evolution and cost lowering initiatives that are happening in the healthcare industry. Appointing physician assistants helps healthcare establishments lower its cost without compromising on quality of service or productivity. States too are now allowing physician assistants to perform more medical procedures and all these factors are leading to a higher demand for professionals.

There are a few factors which determine a physician assistant salary which are as follows:

Specialization: Physician assistants trained to handle complicated medical conditions like HIV or AIDS or cancer gets paid more than other assistants who can handle regular medical conditions. Having a specialization as a physical assistant immediately places them in higher demand and allows them to command a higher salary that can exceed the maximum figure (given below).

Area: The pay that is administered for urban centers is often higher than that of the pay in rural facilities. Also, it is typical that the pay in urban centers located in denser populated areas is higher than urban centers that are located in less dense areas. Cost of living is typically higher in densely populated areas which attributes to the higher pay in urban areas.

Experience can factor into this as well. The more experience that a physician assistant has the higher salary that they will receive.

A typical physician assistant is paid between $75,000 and $106,000 according to salary.com However, a more realistic expectation for salary would be between $65,000 and $90,000 with just a few exceptions. The fact still remains that a physician assistant that has a specialization will still draw a higher salary. Hospitals and outpatient centers pay the highest salary, while government facilities and educational institutions pay low. Like mentioned before, often rural areas will pay lower than urban centers.

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. Specializations like surgery, cancer, HIV, neonatology, pediatrics, emergency medicine, and more are offered by many schools.

Then, a physician assistant can enroll for a postgraduate residency training program in areas like emergency medicine, rural primary care, occupational medicine, etc.

A physician assistant pay increases with time and experience. One caveat to all of this is that the assistant must always be supervised by a licensed doctor.

The ability to remain mobile between specializations, no need for med school, and not being required to complete an internship are among the many advantages that a physician assistant career has. They also are rewarded with a self-satisfying career that helps people recover from medical conditions, many of which can be major.

No two days are the same in the life of a PA because each day poses new challenges and learning opportunities. However, it is impossible for a physician assistant to become an entrepreneur because they are still required to be supervised by a licensed doctor.

This is all you need to know about physician assistant jobs and career prospects.