Physician Assistant Salary Guide

The process of becoming a PA is lengthy but rewarding, especially after you obtain your white coat, become certified and start working in your chosen field. Becoming a physician assistant includes:

1. Obtain a bachelor’s degree and complete the required PA program prerequisites.
Generally, it takes about four years to complete their bachelor’s and the prerequisites. Some PA students take an extra year to ensure they’ve met all their PA school’s requirements. 

2. Get healthcare experience.
All PA students must have healthcare experience. Do this by acquiring healthcare experience (HCE) or patient care experience (PCE). HCE is work/experience when you’re not directly responsible for a patient’s care and PCE is when you’re directly involved in a patient’s care.

Each PA program is different, so it’s best to check your school’s website for the required HCE or PCE hours. You may also want to check the Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants or look into the Applicant’s Manual of Physician Assistant Programs.

3. Apply to PA school.
Once you’ve obtained your bachelor’s degree and the required HCE/PCE hours, it’s time to apply to enter a PA school. Applications usually require:

• Undergraduate/postgraduate transcripts

• Letters of recommendation

• List of HCE/PCE

• Personal statement

4. Prepare to be interviewed.
After you submit your application, you must wait for the mail, email and/or call from your PA program of choice. While waiting, it’s best to start preparing for interviews. Look into forums or even call the PA program to ask about their interview style. It’s better to be overprepared than underprepared.

5. Complete a PA Master’s Program
Most physician assistants complete a master’s program that lasts about two years.

In the first year, PA students complete a didactic or instructional core curriculum that covers topics like fundamentals of clinical practice, pharmacology, health policy and diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. There may also be hands-on lab work that prepares students for clinical work.

In year two, students must complete several clinical rotations. These rotations help future PAs
gain hours of clinical experience in different healthcare settings and specialties.

6. Complete supervised clinical practice.
Before graduation, PA students must complete at least 2,000 hours of supervised clinical practice in various medical and surgical settings.

7. Pass the PANCE
After graduating from an accredited PA program, you must prepare to pass the PANCE. You have five hours to complete 300 exam questions. You also receive 15 minutes to train on the software and a 45-minute break.

Once you pass the PANCE, you’re a certified PA. The next steps are finding a job, applying what you learned in the PA program and choosing a specialty if you desire. Keep in mind that certain specialties pay better than others, but you shouldn’t choose a specialty strictly on salary.