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Physician Assistants

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Provide healthcare services typically performed by a physician, under the supervision of a physician. Conduct complete physicals, provide treatment, and counsel patients. May, in some cases, prescribe medication. Must graduate from an accredited educational program for physician assistants.

Related: Cardiologists Emergency Medicine Physicians Family Medicine Physicians Nurse Practitioners Pediatric Surgeons

Industries: Health & Counseling

Summary
Details

Interpret diagnostic test results for deviations from normal.
Prescribe therapy or medication with physician approval.
Perform therapeutic procedures, such as injections, immunizations, suturing and wound care, and infection management.
Prescribe therapy or medication with physician approval.
Visit and observe patients on hospital rounds or house calls, updating charts, ordering therapy, and reporting back to physician.
Administer or order diagnostic tests, such as x-ray, electrocardiogram, and laboratory tests.
Perform therapeutic procedures, such as injections, immunizations, suturing and wound care, and infection management.
Obtain, compile, and record patient medical data, including health history, progress notes, and results of physical examination.
Obtain, compile, and record patient medical data, including health history, progress notes, and results of physical examination.
Make tentative diagnoses and decisions about management and treatment of patients.
Instruct and counsel patients about prescribed therapeutic regimens, normal growth and development, family planning, emotional problems of daily living, and health maintenance.
Order medical and laboratory supplies and equipment.
Visit and observe patients on hospital rounds or house calls, updating charts, ordering therapy, and reporting back to physician.
Visit and observe patients on hospital rounds or house calls, updating charts, ordering therapy, and reporting back to physician.
Supervise and coordinate activities of technicians and technical assistants.
Examine patients to obtain information about their physical condition.
Provide physicians with assistance during surgery or complicated medical procedures.

Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Speaking
- Talking to others.

Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.

Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

Education

Master's degree

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

No on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

156990/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

75.47/hr

Currently Employed

3,950

Yearly Projected Openings

340

Social: People interested in this work like activities that include helping people, teaching, and talking. They do well at jobs that need:

Attention to Detail
Concern for Others
Integrity
Dependability
Cooperation
Stress Tolerance

Alcohol analyzers
Anal or rectal exam speculas
Anesthesia inhalers or inhaler units
Anesthesia nerve block kit or tray
Arterial blood gas monitors
Arterial line catheters
Audiometers
Binocular light compound microscopes
Blood collection needles
Blood collection syringes
Canes
Cast cutters or saws
Central venous catheters
Cervical collars or neck braces
Chest tubes
Crutches
Diagnostic or interventional vascular catheters for general use
Dispensing pins or needles
Electrocardiography EKG units
Electronic blood pressure units
Electrosurgical or electrocautery equipment
Endoscopic video cameras or recorders or adapters or accessories
Eye charts or vision cards
Gas anesthesia apparatus or machines
Glucose monitors or meters
Head or neck traction supplies
High frequency ventilators
Holter or wearable EKG monitoring systems or accessories
Hypodermic needle
Infusion pump kits
Intraaortic balloon pumps
Intracranial pressure ICP monitoring units
Intravenous tubing with catheter administration kits
Knee therapeutic brace or support
Lancets
Laser printers
Medical acoustic stethoscopes
Medical cinefluoroscopy units
Medical magnetic resonance imaging MRI scanners
Medical or surgical suction or vacuum appliances
Medical ultrasound or doppler or echocardiograph transducer accessories
Medical x ray units for general diagnostic use
Mercury blood pressure units
Microscope slides
Mobile medical services automated external defibrillators AED or hard paddles
Mobile medical services litter
Nasogastric tubes
Nebulizers
Notebook computers
Ophthalmic slit lamps
Ophthalmoscopes or otoscopes or scope sets
Orthopedic splint systems
Personal computers
Personal digital assistant PDAs or organizers
Pulse oximeter units
Radio frequency transmitters or receivers
Reflex hammers or mallets
Spirometers
Surgical clamps or clips or forceps
Surgical curettes or loops or curette sets
Surgical dissectors
Surgical lasers
Surgical microscopes or loupes or magnifiers
Surgical needle holders
Surgical nippers
Surgical probes or directors
Surgical retractors
Surgical scalpels or knives or blades or trephines
Surgical trocars for general use
Suture needles
Suture removers
Tablet computers
Tongue depressors or blades or sticks
Tourniquets
Treadmill exercisers for rehabilitation or therapy
Tuberculin syringes
Vacuum blood collection tubes or containers
Vaginal exam speculas
Videoconferencing systems
Walkers or rollators
Walking braces

Electronic mail software
Internet browser software
Medical software
Office suite software
Spreadsheet software
Storage media loading software
Video conferencing software
Word processing software

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