1. Acute need for PAs: There is an acute shortage of midlevel providers (Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants) in the United States. With the increase in demand, Physician Assistant jobs are one of the most sought after healthcare jobs in the United States.
2. High salaries: On an average, PAs earn around $120,000 per year. PAs in the surgical field usually have a higher income and PAs in the outpatient setting have a lower income. With flexibility in the schedule and high salaries, PA jobs are definitely lucrative.
3. Variety of roles: Unlike Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants can change from one field to another relatively easily. Without going through additional education or certification, PAs can change their field from adult medicine to pediatrics or medical field to surgical field, although more training maybe required before you get proficient in the new field. For Nurse Practitioners, they may need additional degree or certification to change fields.
4. Access to surgical fields: More than Nurse Practitioners, PAs are often seen in surgical fields like Orthopedics, General Surgery, Neurosurgery, Cardiothoracic surgery, etc. If surgery is your interest, PA course is probably a better option than Nurse Practitioner course.
5. Work independence: Although a physician supervision is required for all the PAs, you can still evaluate patients, diagnose diseases, write prescriptions and do minor procedures just like doctors. It is highly rewarding to work like a physician and save lives.
6. Train like a doctor: PAs and medical students are trained in a similar fashion. In some universities, there are several rotations where medical students and PA students work along with each other. They are trained by doctors during the PA course and on their job.
7. Flexible eligibility criteria: While you have to be a nurse to go through Nurse Practitioner training, you can have any healthcare background to do PA studies. Anyone in healthcare with a Baccalaureate degree is eligible to apply for PA education. Direct patient care is recommended but not mandatory in several PA Programs. Bachelor’s degree with courses in Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Microbiology, Human anatomy and Physiology are usually required.
1. Credentialing verification: If you have a baccalaureate from a foreign country, you need to get your educational credentials verified by an authentic agency like Federation Credentials Verification Service (FCVS). It usually takes few months before verification process is completed.
2. GRE and TOEFL: Most of the PA programs require GRE test to complete the application. For foreign educated students, TOEFL is required for English proficiency testing.
3. Apply to a PA program: Once credentials are verified and GRE/TOEFL tests are completed, you can start applying to a PA program. You may need other documents like letters of recommendation.
4. Pre-requisites: If you don’t have few basic credits in your Bachelor’s course, few universities may recommend to complete pre-requisites before starting the actual PA program. They may offer a position contingent upon completing the pre-requisites.
5. Experience in the United States: Most of the programs recommend direct patient care and experience in the United States. Some programs mandate direct patient care as one of the eligibility criteria. Shadowing or working with PA is highly recommended. Other patient care roles like EMT, medical assistant, patient care technician are helpful with the application.
6. PA program:
7. Immigration to the United States: If you are a foreign student, you may need to enter the US on a student visa (F-1 visa). You are not eligible for any work visa (H1B visa) as PA program is not considered as work.
8. Physician Assistant licensing: Once PA program is complete, PA license has to be applied. It is usually state specific and you can apply in a state wherever you like to practice.
9. Employment and green card processing: Once you obtain a PA license, you can start working in the clinical setting wherever you like. First few months of work are usually training before you get your feet wet. If you are a foreign student, green card processing can be started at the time of employment.