What Do Physician Assistants Do?
Physician assistants (PAs) are health care professionals who practice medicine under the supervision of physicians and surgeons. Working as members of a health care team, PAs take medical histories, examine and treat patients, order and interpret laboratory tests and x-rays, instruct and counsel patients, make diagnoses, and prescribe certain medications.
Many PAs work in primary care specialties, such as general internal medicine, pediatrics, and family medicine. Other specialty areas such as general and thoracic surgery, emergency medicine, orthopedics, and geriatrics. PAs specializing in surgery provide preoperative and postoperative care and may work as first or second assistants during major surgery.
For more information on physician assistants, go to: http://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/physician-assistants.htm.
Where Do Physician Assistants Work?
Most PAs work in doctors’ offices. PAs also work in general medical and surgical hospitals and in outpatient care centers, including health clinics, health maintenance organizations, federal or state government institutions, and in colleges and schools.
What Do Physician Assistants Earn?
In 2022, the average annual income reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for physician assistants in the United States was $125,270. The New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) reports that, in 2023, physician assistants in New York earned a median annual salary of $139,528 (physician assistants in the 25th percentile made approximately $110,141 while those in the 75th percentile made approximately $156,172).
Supply and Demand
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that the number of jobs for physician assistants in the U.S. will increase by 28% between 2021 and 2031. The New York State Department of Labor projects that the number of jobs for physician assistants in the state will increase by 40% between 2020 and 2030.
Job opportunities for PAs should be very good for many years, particularly in rural and inner-city hospitals and clinics because those settings have difficulty attracting physicians. Also, as more physicians enter specialty areas of medicine, there will be a greater need for primary health care providers, such as PAs. And as the U.S. population ages, PAs are expected to have an increasing role in keeping older adults healthy and caring for them when they get ill.
Rapid job growth for PAs also reflects the expansion of the health care industry and an emphasis on cost containment. PAs offer a cost-effective approach to increase routine health care services since they can relieve physicians of routine duties and procedures. Health care providers are also expected to use more physician assistants in new ways as states continue to allow assistants to do more procedures.
For more information on projections for PAs by New York State labor regions, (2018-2028), click here.
Educational Program Requirements
Although education programs’ admission requirements vary, most applicants to PA education programs already have a bachelor’s degree and some prior health care work experience, such as being a registered nurse, emergency medical technician (EMT), or paramedic.
PA education programs usually take at least two years and typically lead to a master’s degree, although some offer a bachelor’s degree. Coursework will include biology, pathology, biochemistry, human anatomy, physiology, clinical pharmacology, clinical medicine, physical diagnosis, and medical ethics, as well as a supervised clinical training rotation in a medical facility.
PA education programs must be approved by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistants (ARC-PA). All states require PAs to complete an accredited, formal education program and pass a national exam to obtain a license.
For more information on accredited PA programs, go to: http://www.arc-pa.org.
New York Licensure Requirements
To be licensed as a PA in New York, an individual must be a graduate of an ARC-PA accredited or New York State Education Department approved PA education program and must pass the Physician Assistant National Certification Examination (PANCE).For more information on PANCE, go to the National Commission of Certification of Physician Assistants at: http://www.nccpa.net.
For more information on New York State licensure requirements, go to: http://www.op.nysed.gov/prof/med/rpa.htm.
Financial Support
For more information about PA scholarships and fellowships from the PA Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the American Academy of Physician Assistants, go to the PA Foundation Web site, http://www.pa-foundation.org/, and click on the Scholarships and Foundations tab.
Education Programs in New York (subject to change)
| Albany Medical College Center for Physician Assistant Studies 47 New Scotland Ave. Albany, NY 12208 (518) 262-5251 |
SUNY Upstate Medical University College of Health Professions 790 Irving Avenue Syracuse, NY 13210 (315) 464-6561 |
| D’Youville University 320 Porter Ave. Buffalo, NY 14202 (716) 829-8000 |
Daemen College 4380 Main Street Amherst, NY 14226 (800) 462-7652 |
| Hofstra University 113 Hofstra University Hempstead, NY 11549 (516) 463-6600 |
LeMoyne College 1419 Salt Springs Road Syracuse, NY 13214 (315) 445-4100 |
| Mercy College Bronx Campus 555 Broadway Dobbs Ferry, NY 10522 (914) 674-7600 |
New York Institute of Technology Northern Boulevard Old Westbury, NY 11568 (516) 686-1000 |
| Pace University Lenox Hill Hospital PA Program 163 William Street, 5th floor New York, NY 10038 (212) 618-6052 |
Pace University College of Health Professions 861 Bedford Rd Pleasantville, NY 10570 (914) 597-8319 |
| SUNY Downstate Medical Center College of Health Related Professions 450 Clarkson Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11203 (718) 270-2325 |
St. John’s University College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences 8000 Utopia Pkwy Jamaica, NY 11439 (718) 990-2000 |
| SUNY Stony Brook School of Health Tech & Mgmt 101 Nicolls Rd Stony Brook, NY 11794 (631) 444-2252 |
Long Island University Brooklyn Campus School of Health Professions 1 University Plaza Brooklyn, NY 11201 (718) 488-1011 |
| The City College of New York CUNY School of Medicine 160 Convent Avenue New York, NY 10031 (212) 650-7000 |
Touro College School of Health Sciences 1700 Union Boulevard Bay Shore, NY 11706 (866) 868-7648 and Nassau Univ Medical Center Ext Site 2201 Hempstead Tpke East Meadow, NY 11554 (866) 868-7648 or Manhattan Campus 232 W 40th St Manhattan, NY 10018 (866) TOURO-4-U |
| Wagner College One Campus Road Staten Island, NY 10301 (718) 390-3100 |
Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences 570 Lexington Ave, 9th Fl New York, NY 10022 (646) 962-1290 |
| York College-CUNY 94-20 Guy Brewer Blvd Jamaica, NY 11451 (718) 262-2000 |
Clarkson University 8 Clarkson Ave Potsdam, NY 13699 (315) 268-6400 |
| Marist College 3399 North Rd. Poughkeepsie, NY 12601 (854) 575-3000 |
Rochester Institute of Technology College of Health Sciences & Technology 153 Lomb Memorial Drive Rochester, NY 14623 (585) 475-2411 |
Additional Web Links
For more information on PAs, go to:
American Academy of Physician Assistants: http://www.aapa.org
New York State Society of Physician Assistants: http://www.nysspa.org
To learn more about physician assistants, check out this video.
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