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Physician Assistant Salary and Other Benefits
A Physician Assistant (PA) works under the supervision of a physician and is able to perform most of the same duties. The main difference between the two positions is the amount of time it takes to become certified or registered and the scope of the duties they are able to perform. A PA can specialize just as a regular physician can and they have the same variety of choice when it comes to deciding where they will work.
In order to become a PA it is usually recommended that the person already has a background in the medical sector, thus it is fairly common for RNs and those trained as emergency medics or paramedics to continue their training and become a trained P.A. Physician Assistants need to commit to a two to three year training period after which time they are ready to join a medical team where they work alongside other trained medical staff. This is significantly shorter than the four years of study and three years of internship required for a registered physician.
A physician assistant salary will start off at around $63,000 up till $77,000 per year. Someone working in the same position for twenty years could expect to earn as much as $100,000 per year. Of course, these figures do vary quite a bit. They are dependent on experience, and are also calculated according to the field the PA is working in as well as their location. The higher paying specialties are cardiovascular surgery, dermatology and emergency care. Public health services and obstetrics and gynecology are both on the lower spectrum when it comes to salary rates for specialist care.
If you are looking for a higher paying position you should consider employment at either a private practice or clinic or at a hospital as both of these routinely pay higher per year of experience than other positions such as working for a company, or a school. Some federal government positions can also be quite high paying, with their minimum start up salary usually higher than you would receive in other positions, including working for a hospital.
Other important considerations which you may want to look into before taking on employment include the type and frequency of bonuses, vacation allowance and whether there are any other benefits offered such as paid sick leave, reimbursements for further education and training courses and how much malpractice insurance rates will be. These are all important to consider as they can impact your personal quality of life almost as much as your monthly salary will.