Surgical physician assistant (Surgical P.A.) is a job that combines both the primary care of a physician assistant and the specialty training required for hospital-based surgery. Surgical physician assistants get hands-on experience in the operating room, where they may assist with surgical procedures like opening up an incision, closing wounds or assisting doctors during surgery.
Average Salary for Surgical Physician Assistant. There are many factors that contribute to the salary of a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) including location, years of experience and education level. The first two are fairly self-explanatory, but what is education level? Let’s break it down:
The median annual salary for a Surgical Physician Assistant is $ 111,990 in the United States. Also, in such a occupation you will have to work for about 42 hours each week and will typically spend your working hours outside of home.
Salary For Surgical Physician Assistant Overview
What is the average salary of a surgical physician assistant?
In a 2018 report, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the median annual salary for physician assistants (including surgical physician assistants) was $103,320. This means that half of all surgical physician assistants earned more than $103,320 and half earned less. The lowest 10% earned less than $77,470 and the highest 10% earned more than $139,810.
So what does this mean for you? The first thing you’ll want to do is determine where you want to work. It’s important to understand that different states offer different salaries for these positions so it’s important to consider where you’d like to live before making any decisions about your career path as a surgical physician assistant.
The next thing you’ll want to do is decide what kind of practice setting appeals most strongly to your personality type. Are you someone who enjoys working with patients directly or someone who prefers working behind the scenes? You’ll also need to consider whether or not you want a full-time position or something part-time or freelance instead.
What Is A Surgical Physician Assistant
Surgical physician assistants are ighly skilled clinicians who have didactic and clinical training to function in all areas of the peri-operative environment, including pre-admission, testing, intra-operative first assisting, PACU care, SICU care, step-down unit, outpatient clinic, office practice, and even home care. They are trained to provide diagnostic, therapeutic, surgical, and preventative maintenance under a physician’s or surgeon’s supervision.
They need to take courses in basic health sciences and clinical medicine the first year, with the second year focusing on clinical experiences in a series of core and elective rotations, which takes approximately two years to complete. Successful applicants to PA programs need to have an average of 4.5 years of healthcare experience.
A surgical physician assistant makes on average $189,957 per year or $91.33 per hour.
Physician Assistant Duties & Responsibilities
Physician assistants perform many of the same functions as traditional medical doctors:
- Interview and examine patients to determine a diagnosis.
- Order tests to ascertain the nature and extent of illnesses and injuries.
- Prescribe medications and suggest lifestyle changes to remedy medical problems.
- Stitch wounds and set bones.
- Administer immunizations.
- Maintain patient records and provide documentation for insurance companies.
Physician assistants can specialize in areas like psychiatry, pediatrics, dermatology, or surgery. They work for hospitals, group medical practices, colleges, and government agencies.
Education, Training & Certification
Physician assistants are formally educated to examine patients, diagnose injuries and illnesses, and provide treatment.3
- Education: Graduate school, typically a master’s degree from an accredited educational program, is required. PAs must complete two years of full-time postgraduate study to earn the degree. Most applicants to physician assistant education programs already have a bachelor’s degree and some healthcare-related work experience. The graduate programs include classroom and laboratory instruction in subjects including pathology, human anatomy, physiology, clinical medicine, pharmacology, physical diagnosis, and medical ethics.
- Training: You will also need hundreds of hours of supervised clinical training in different practice areas, including family medicine, internal medicine, emergency medicine, and pediatrics.
- Licensure: Physician assistants must be licensed in every U.S. state and the District of Columbia. You must pass the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination (PANCE) to become licensed. A physician assistant who passes the exam can use the credential Physician Assistant-Certified (PA-C).
- Continuing Education: Continuing education is required to maintain certification. Physician assistants must complete 100 hours of continuing education every two years. A recertification exam is required every 10 years.
Physician Assistant Skills & Competencies
Here’s a list of the most commonly sought skills in physician assistants. Skills will vary based on the exact position for which you’re applying.
- Patient and care team communications: Physician assistants must be able to communicate clearly and compassionately with patients and their colleagues within often stressful medical treatment settings.
- Analytical skills: Strong analytical talents are as important for physician assistants as they are for medical doctors in ensuring accurate patient diagnoses and the implementation of responsive care plans.
- Interpersonal skills: Solid interpersonal skills, also known as “soft skills,” are key to displaying a good bedside manner when working with sick or injured individuals.
- Technical skills: Physician assistants must be more technically savvy than they were in previous generations. They must be able to use electronic medical records systems and other technology.
Physician Assistant Earnings by Part-time and Full-time Status (AAPA)
| Earnings | 10th percentile | 25th percentile | 50th percentile | 75th percentile | 90th percentile |
| Part-Time | |||||
| Base Salary | $45,000 | $60,000 | $78,000 | $95,000 | $112,000 |
| Base Hourly | $45 | $50 | $55 | $65 | $75 |
| Bonus | $600 | $1,000 | $3,000 | $10,000 | $21,000 |
| Hours Worked | 16 | 20 | 24 | 30 | 32 |
| Full Time | |||||
| Base Salary | $83,000 | $92,000 | $112,260 | $117,000 | $157,000 |
| Base Hourly | $45 | $51 | $60 | $68 | $80 |
| Bonus | $100 | $2,500 | $6,000 | $14,000 | $30,000 |
| Hours Worked | 35 | 40 | 40 | 50 | 55 |
Total income in the last calendar year from PA positions (NCCPA)
| Specialty | Salary |
| Addiction Medicine | $113,864 |
| Adolescent Medicine | $91,045 |
| Anesthesiology | $107,421 |
| Critical Care Medicine | $125,522 |
| Dermatology | $129,246 |
| Emergency Medicine | $125,110 |
| Family Medicine/General Practice | $105,286 |
| Gynecology | $98,145 |
| Hospice and Palliative Care | $106,333 |
| Hospital Medicine | $114,356 |
| Internal Medicine | $105,081 |
| Neurology | $104,933 |
| Obstetrics and Gynecology | $99,151 |
| Occupational Medicine | $111,286 |
| Ophthalmology | $100,067 |
| Otolaryngology | $105,913 |
| Pain Management | $111,938 |
| Pathology | $101,667 |
| Pediatrics | $94,526 |
| Physical Medicine/Rehabilitation | $104,150 |
| Public Health | $95,323 |
| Psychiatry | $113,417 |
| Radiation Oncology | $106,848 |
| Radiology | $113,440 |
| General Surgery | $115,427 |
| Surgery– Subspecialty | $122,477 |
| Urology | $109,532 |
| Source: NCCPA Statistical Profile of Physician Assistants |
