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Become A General Surgery Physician Assistant

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Working As A General Surgery Physician Assistant

  • Getting Information
  • Assisting and Caring for Others
  • Documenting/Recording Information
  • Making Decisions and Solving Problems
  • Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge

  • Deal with People

  • Unpleasant/Angry People

  • Unpleasant/Hazardous Environment

  • Make Decisions

  • $96,640

    Average Salary

What Does A General Surgery Physician Assistant Do

A General Surgery Physician Assistant helps surgeon with various tasks, such as inserting tubes, retracting issues, starting intravenous solutions, and others. They also write orders for patients while they are in the recovery room, as well as examine and monitor patients as they recover from their surgeries.

How To Become A General Surgery Physician Assistant

Physician assistants typically need a master’s degree from an accredited educational program. Earning that degree usually takes at least 2 years of full-time postgraduate study. All states require physician assistants to be licensed.

Education

Most applicants to physician assistant education programs already have a bachelor’s degree and some healthcare-related work experience. Although admissions requirements vary from program to program, most programs require 2 to 4 years of undergraduate coursework with a focus in science. Many applicants already have experience as registered nurses or as EMTs and paramedics before they apply to a physician assistant program.

Physician assistant education programs usually take at least 2 years of full-time study. About 200 education programs were accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc. (ARC-PA) in 2014. Almost all of these accredited programs offer a master’s degree.

Physician assistant education includes classroom and laboratory instruction in subjects such as pathology, human anatomy, physiology, clinical medicine, pharmacology, physical diagnosis, and medical ethics. The programs also include supervised clinical training in several areas, including family medicine, internal medicine, emergency medicine, and pediatrics.

Sometimes students serve in one or more clinical rotations in these areas under the supervision of a physician who is looking to hire a physician assistant. In this way, clinical rotations may lead to permanent employment.

Licenses, Certifications, and Registrations

All states and the District of Columbia require physician assistants to be licensed. To become licensed, candidates must pass the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination (PANCE) from the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA). A physician assistant who passes the exam may use the credential “Physician Assistant-Certified (PA-C).”

To keep their certification, physician assistants must complete 100 hours of continuing education every 2 years. The recertification exam is required every 10 years.

In addition, state licensure laws require physician assistants to hold an agreement with a supervising physician. Although the physician does not need to be onsite at all times, collaboration between physicians and physician assistants is required for practice.

Important Qualities

Communication skills. Physician assistants must explain complex medical issues in a way that patients can understand. They must also effectively communicate with doctors and other healthcare workers to ensure that they provide the best possible patient care.

Compassion. Physician assistants deal with patients who are sick or injured and may be in extreme pain or distress. They must be able to treat patients and their families with compassion and understanding.

Detail oriented. Physician assistants should be observant and have a strong ability to focus when evaluating and treating patients.

Emotional stability. Physician assistants, particularly those working in surgery or emergency medicine, should be able to work well under pressure. They must remain calm in stressful situations in order to provide quality care.

Problem-solving skills. Physician assistants need to evaluate patients’ symptoms and administer the appropriate treatments. They must be diligent when investigating complicated medical issues so that they can determine the best course of treatment for each patient.

Advancement

Some physician assistants pursue additional education in a specialty. Postgraduate educational programs are available in areas such as emergency medicine and psychiatry. To enter one of these programs, a physician assistant must be a graduate of an accredited program and be certified by the NCCPA.

As they gain greater clinical knowledge and experience, physician assistants can earn new responsibilities and higher wages. For example, experienced physician assistants may supervise other staff and physician assistant students or they may become an executive leader of a healthcare organization.

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General Surgery Physician Assistant jobs

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General Surgery Physician Assistant Typical Career Paths

General Surgery Physician Assistant Demographics

Gender

  • Female

    65.9%

  • Male

    34.1%

Ethnicity

  • White

    75.3%

  • Hispanic or Latino

    12.5%

  • Asian

    9.2%

  • Unknown

    2.6%

  • Black or African American

    0.3%
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Languages Spoken

  • Spanish

    28.6%

  • Chinese

    14.3%

  • Cantonese

    14.3%

  • French

    14.3%

  • Armenian

    14.3%

  • Russian

    14.3%
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General Surgery Physician Assistant

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General Surgery Physician Assistant Education

    Schools

    • University of Kentucky

      9.1%

    • Duquesne University

      9.1%

    • Massachusetts College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences

      4.5%

    • University of Florida

      4.5%

    • Touro College

      4.5%

    • Union County College

      4.5%

    • Burlington County College

      4.5%

    • Mercer University

      4.5%

    • Drexel University

      4.5%

    • South University

      4.5%

    • Lenox Hill Hospital

      4.5%

    • Institute of Technology - Tampa

      4.5%

    • California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo

      4.5%

    • Idaho State University

      4.5%

    • State University of New York Upstate Medical University

      4.5%

    • Trevecca Nazarene University

      4.5%

    • Howard University

      4.5%

    • University of Saint Francis

      4.5%

    • Chatham University

      4.5%

    • State University of New York Stony Brook

      4.5%
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    Majors

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    Degrees

    • Masters

      44.7%

    • Bachelors

      26.3%

    • Doctorate

      10.5%

    • Other

      7.9%

    • Certificate

      5.3%

    • Associate

      5.3%
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General Surgery Physician Assistant

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Real General Surgery Physician Assistant Salaries

Job Title Company Location Start Date Salary
General Surgery Physician Luis Reyes, M.D., P.A. McAllen, TX Jul 01, 2012 $240,000
General Surgery Physician Ohiohealth Physician Group, Inc. Mansfield, OH Dec 15, 2015 $187,200 -
$416,000
General Surgery Physician Baptist Health Medical Group, Inc. Louisville, KY Mar 30, 2015 $187,199
General Surgery Physician Baptist Health Medical Group, Inc. Louisville, KY Apr 06, 2015 $187,199
General Surgery Physician Baptist Health Medical Group, Inc. Richmond, KY Jul 01, 2015 $165,526
Physician-Pgy5 General Surgery Barnes-Jewish Hospital Saint Louis, MO Jan 07, 2016 $62,557
Physician-Pgy4 General Surgery Barnes-Jewish Hospital Saint Louis, MO Jul 01, 2015 $59,279
Physician-Pgy4 General Surgery Barnes-Jewish Hospital Saint Louis, MO Jun 08, 2015 $59,279
Physician-Pgy5 General Surgery Barnes-Jewish Hospital Saint Louis, MO Jan 07, 2016 $58,143
Physician-Pgy3 General Surgery Barnes-Jewish Hospital Saint Louis, MO Jan 07, 2016 $58,143
Physician-Pgy5-General Surgery Barnes-Jewish Hospital Saint Louis, MO Jul 01, 2011 $57,230
Physician-Pgy2 General Surgery Barnes-Jewish Hospital Saint Louis, MO Jun 19, 2015 $54,280
Physician-Pgy2 General Surgery Barnes-Jewish Hospital Saint Louis, MO Jun 09, 2015 $54,280
Physician-Pgy4 General Surgery Barnes-Jewish Hospital Saint Louis, MO Jul 01, 2010 $53,692
Physician-Pgy1 General Surgery-Prelim Barnes-Jewish Hospital Saint Louis, MO Sep 06, 2016 $53,508

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Top Skills for A General Surgery Physician Assistant

GeneralSurgeryTraumaResuscitationsEmergencyMedicineICUSurgicalPatientsHDiagnosticTestsSurgicalProceduresBedsideProceduresDifferentPatientCareAttachmentParenting.NeurologyClinicSetting3EmergencyRoomPhysicianEmergencyDepartmentCystRemovalHospitalPPatientEducationColorectalSurgeryOrthopedicsTubePlacement

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Top General Surgery Physician Assistant Skills

  1. General Surgery
  2. Trauma Resuscitations
  3. Emergency Medicine
You can check out examples of real life uses of top skills on resumes here:
  • Consult on ER patients and perform procedures including suturing, central line placement and chest tubes.
  • Provide clinic consultations and routinely provide wound care and management.

Top General Surgery Physician Assistant Employers

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