Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
What is a clinical physician assistant and how to become one
A clinical physician career has a "faster than the national average" rate of job growth. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 31% and produce 37,000 job opportunities across the United States, making it a safe career option to consider. The pay in this career field is equally good. In exchange for their expertise, clinical physicians earn an average annual salary of $189,978. Working collaboratively and reporting directly to one or more physicians, clinical physician assistants examine, diagnose, and treat patients in clinical medical facilities. They have a thorough understanding of medicine and best practices in treatment.
On a day-to-day basis, clinical physician assistants perform history and physical exams, dictations and discharge summaries; complete nursing assessments and care plans; prescribe medicine to patients after obtaining approval from the physician; order and interpret medical laboratory tests performed on patients and conduct diagnostic research.
How do you become a clinical physician assistant? To become an eligible hire as a clinical physician assistant, one requires a master's degree or an associate's degree in physician assistant studies in addition to a standard bachelor's degree in disciplines such as anatomy or biology. A board examination is required too for licensing and certification.
Avg. Salary $145,549
Avg. Salary $59,228
Growth rate 28%
Growth rate 0.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.35%
Asian 11.51%
Black or African American 5.48%
Hispanic or Latino 12.02%
Unknown 3.79%
White 66.85%
Genderfemale 62.03%
male 37.97%
Age - 37American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%
Asian 7.00%
Black or African American 14.00%
Hispanic or Latino 19.00%
White 57.00%
Genderfemale 47.00%
male 53.00%
Age - 37Stress level is very high
7.1 - high
Complexity level is advanced
7 - challenging
Work life balance is fair
6.4 - fair
Clinical physician assistant career paths
Key steps to become a clinical physician assistant
Explore clinical physician assistant education requirements
Start to develop specific clinical physician assistant skills
Skills Percentages Patients 29.89% Primary Care 6.15% Medical Care 6.14% Family Medicine 5.27% Urgent Care 5.08% Complete relevant clinical physician assistant training and internships
Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New clinical physician assistants learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a clinical physician assistant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real clinical physician assistant resumes.Research clinical physician assistant duties and responsibilities
- Implement and manage cardiology internship college course.
- Work closely with patients to manage their depression and anxiety beginning with initial diagnosis to med-initiation and follow-up care.
- Complete nursing assessments, complete care plans, perform ADL's, utilize lifts, alarms and transfer patients safely.
- Care for multiple patients in a fast pace setting and provide total care including all treatments, medications and ADL's.
Prepare your clinical physician assistant resume
When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your clinical physician assistant resume.
You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a clinical physician assistant resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.
Choose from 10+ customizable clinical physician assistant resume templates
Build a professional clinical physician assistant resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your clinical physician assistant resume.
Apply for clinical physician assistant jobs
Now it's time to start searching for a clinical physician assistant job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:
- Browse job boards for relevant postings
- Consult your professional network
- Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
- Watch out for job scams
How did you land your first clinical physician assistant job
Are you a clinical physician assistant?
Share your story for a free salary report.
Average clinical physician assistant salary
The average clinical physician assistant salary in the United States is $145,549 per year or $70 per hour. Clinical physician assistant salaries range between $84,000 and $252,000 per year.
What am I worth?
How do clinical physician assistants rate their job?
Updated January 8, 2025
