Travel Physician Assistant Salary Guide

A physician assistant is a licensed medical professional who holds an advanced degree. PAs work directly with patients of all ages and work in different specialties with teams of physicians, surgeons and other healthcare workers.

Some typical PA duties include:

  • Taking or reviewing a patient’s medical history

  • Examining patients

  • Ordering and interpreting diagnostic tests

  • Diagnosing a patient’s injury or illness

  • Giving treatment

  • Counseling or educating patients and their families

  • Prescribing medicines 

  • Assessing and recording a patient’s progress

The scope of a PA’s duties that must be supervised by a physician or surgeon varies by state, so check with your state licensing board for local rules.

How to Become a Physician Assistant

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.

Average Travel Physician Assistant Salary

$8,400/week

The average salary for a Travel Physician Assistant is $8,400 per week.

Last updated on November 4, 2024. Based on 1 active jobs on Vivian.com in the last 7 days.

What are the highest paying Employers and Agencies for Travel Physician Assistant jobs?
Average Weekly SalaryMax Weekly Salary
Planet Healthcare$8,400$8,400

Last updated on November 4, 2024. Information based on active jobs on Vivian.com.

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Travel Physician Assistant Career Guide

Use our exclusive Career Guides to research the education, qualifications, skills and responsibilities for a variety of healthcare disciplines and specialties employers are hiring now.

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Where Do Travel Physician Assistants Get Paid the Most?

Traveling physician assistants enjoy more flexibility, travel benefits, extra income and other perks. Like PAs in permanent positions, traveling PAs assess, diagnose and treat patients in inpatient and outpatient settings.

Physician Assistant salary data available on Vivian in August 2022 indicated that traveling PAs were being paid the most in the following states:

  • Alabama

  • Arizona

  • Colorado

  • Florida

  • New York

  • Oklahoma

  • Oregon

  • Wisconsin

For those wanting to work in metropolitan areas, consider these high-paying cities:

  • Bedford, Virginia

  • Colorado Springs, Colorado

  • Lawton, Oklahoma

  • Madison, Alabama

  • Milwaukee, Wisconsin

  • Orlando, Florida 

  • Portland, Oregon

  • Watertown, New York

  • Yuma, Arizona

Traveling PAs in these states and cities earned an average weekly salary of $2,400, but some positions paid more than others.

What is the Highest Paid Travel Physician Assistant Specialty?

Vivian posts jobs in several PA specialties; some pay more than others. In mid-August 2022, our highest-paid PA specialty was Cardiovascular/Cardiothoracic Surgery. Travel PAs earned between $3,606 and $4,808 per week in this specialty. Travel neurosurgery PAs had the second-highest salaries, earning between $3,029 and $4,038 weekly, followed by general surgery PAs, earning $2,885 to $3,846 per week.

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Travel Physician Assistant FAQs

What professional certifications can potentially increase my salary as a Physician Assistant?

Physician Assistants can specialize in several fields, so numerous certifications may potentially increase your salary or qualify you for roles with greater responsibilities and better wages. The National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants offers numerous professional certificates by specialty, including:

  • Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery (CVTS)

  • Dermatology (Derm)

  • Emergency Medicine (EM)

  • Hospital Medicine (HM)

  • Nephrology (Neph)

  • Orthopaedic Surgery (OS)

  • Pediatrics (Peds)

  • Palliative Medicine and Hospice Care (PMHC)

  • Psychiatry (Psy)

Can earning a degree improve my salary as a Physician Assistant?

Yes, advanced education often opens new career paths that usually lead to higher salaries. Physician assistants may benefit financially from pursuing a Physician Assistant (PA) or a
Physician Assistant-Certified (PA-C).