Physician Assistants
Provide healthcare services typically performed by a physician, under the supervision of a physician. Conduct complete physicals, provide treatment, and counsel patients. May, in some cases, prescribe medication. Must graduate from an accredited educational program for physician assistants.
Also Known As:
Cardiology Physician Assistant
Certified Physician Assistant (PA-C)
Emergency Medicine Physician Assistant (Emergency Medicine PA)
Family Practice Physician Assistant
Orthopaedic Physician Assistant
Orthopedic Physician Assistant
Physician Assistant (PA)
Physician's Assistant
Surgical Critical Care Physician Assistant (Surgical Critical Care PA)
Surgical Physician Assistant (Surgical PA)
Wages
Annual wages for Physician Assistants in United States
Job Outlook
Bright
New job opportunities are very likely in the future
United States
2034 Projected Employment
195,800
20% Change From 2024
Explore Physician Assistants video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Administer or order diagnostic tests, such as x-ray, electrocardiogram, and laboratory tests.
- Interpret diagnostic test results for deviations from normal.
- Prescribe therapy or medication with physician approval.
- Perform therapeutic procedures, such as injections, immunizations, suturing and wound care, and infection management.
- Prescribe therapy or medication with physician approval.
- Visit and observe patients on hospital rounds or house calls, updating charts, ordering therapy, and reporting back to physician.
- Instruct and counsel patients about prescribed therapeutic regimens, normal growth and development, family planning, emotional problems of daily living, and health maintenance.
- Perform therapeutic procedures, such as injections, immunizations, suturing and wound care, and infection management.
- Order medical and laboratory supplies and equipment.
- Obtain, compile, and record patient medical data, including health history, progress notes, and results of physical examination.
- Make tentative diagnoses and decisions about management and treatment of patients.
- Obtain, compile, and record patient medical data, including health history, progress notes, and results of physical examination.
- Supervise and coordinate activities of technicians and technical assistants.
- Visit and observe patients on hospital rounds or house calls, updating charts, ordering therapy, and reporting back to physician.
- Examine patients to obtain information about their physical condition.
- Visit and observe patients on hospital rounds or house calls, updating charts, ordering therapy, and reporting back to physician.
- Provide physicians with assistance during surgery or complicated medical procedures.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")