Physician Assistant Job Report

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Allied health graduate degrees are growing in demand as more than 60% of the health industry’s workforce are in fields that require Allied health degrees -- a Physician Assistant (PA) graduate degree being one. With a high annual median salary of over $90K and a job outlook of over 38% more than other employment, it comes as no surprise that the PA graduate degrees have massive appeal Quick Facts: Physician Assistants 2012 Median Pay $90,930 per year $43.72 per hour Entry-Level Education Master’s degree Work Experience in a Related Occupation None On-the-job Training None Number of Jobs, 2012 86,700 Job Outlook, 2012-22 38% (Much faster than average) Employment Change, 2012-22 33,300 Graph via BLS.gov Why Their Jobs Are In Such Demand Work…show more content…
This accelerated four-year program allows you to earn your bachelor's in conjunction with your graduate level PA certificate. The third and fourth years include nine months of clinical coursework and 12 months of clinical rotations. Most BA-PA programs will admit students on a conditional pre-professional status, until the first two years are complete. Licensing and Certification To become a certified physician assistant and be eligible for the acronym PA-C, you must complete the following: Graduate from a program accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) Pass the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE) To maintain active certification status, PAs must complete 100 hours of continuing medical education every two years. Additionally, a recertification exam is required every six years. Recertification can be attained alternatively by combining learning experience with a take-home exam. What PAs Actually Do Physician assistants practice medicine under the supervision of physicians and…show more content…
PAs have their own patients and, under a written agreement with a licensed physician, make clinical decisions and provide a broad range of diagnostic, therapeutic, preventive and health maintenance services. The physician-PA team relationship is fundamental to the PA profession and enhances the delivery of high-quality health care. Every day, thousands of people have access to quality health care because there are PAs in their communities. PAs are critical to increasing access to care for rural and other underserved patients, as they are often the only health providers in these areas. PAs made nearly 300 million patient visits and prescribed or recommended approximately 332 million medications were in 2008. PAs also work in specialties outside of primary care. The PA profession is designed to be adaptable, preparing PAs to work with physicians in primary care or medical and surgical specialties and subspecialties, as the need

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