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What is an orthopaedic physician assistant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read

An orthopedic physician assistant plays an integral role in the global management of neurosurgery patients, including all aspects of pre-, intra-, and post-operative care. They evaluate the patient's history, help with treatment plans, and serve as the first assistant in surgery alongside managing post-operative care.

For this role, you should possess a high level of technical skills. You can master such highly technical and demanding skills through years of physician assistant practice, master's degree, and post-graduate critical care residency.

Whether it's performing comprehensive and problem-focused histories and physical examinations or interpreting laboratory and diagnostic tests, your job requires you to be as versatile as possible. Subsequently, the salary you may receive as an orthopedic physician assistant is astounding, to be exact. Accordingly, you can expect to make an average salary of $155,403 per year or $74.71 per hour if you're an orthopedic physician assistant.

ScoreOrthopaedic Physician AssistantUS Average
Salary
9.9

Avg. Salary $189,482

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
9.9

Growth rate 28%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
1.7
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.35%

Asian 10.02%

Black or African American 5.62%

Hispanic or Latino 12.33%

Unknown 3.82%

White 67.86%

Gender

female 36.36%

male 63.64%

Age - 37
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 37
Stress level
9.9

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level
10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance
5.6

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an orthopaedic physician assistant

  1. Explore orthopaedic physician assistant education requirements

    Most common orthopaedic physician assistant degrees

    Bachelor's

    39.8 %

    Master's

    29.7 %

    Associate

    13.3 %
  2. Start to develop specific orthopaedic physician assistant skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Patients24.54%
    Surgery13.74%
    Patient Care12.59%
    Diagnostic Tests4.98%
    Medical Care3.89%
  3. Complete relevant orthopaedic physician assistant training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New orthopaedic 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 an orthopaedic physician assistant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real orthopaedic physician assistant resumes.
  4. Research orthopaedic physician assistant duties and responsibilities

    • Manage care for post-operative patients.
    • Work closely with patients to manage their depression and anxiety beginning with initial diagnosis to med-initiation and follow-up care.
    • Order and asses lab work and diagnostic procedures including xrays, cat scans, and MRI's.
    • Recommend and order surgery when indicate; assist staff with preoperative orders.
  5. Prepare your orthopaedic physician assistant resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your orthopaedic 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 an orthopaedic 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 orthopaedic physician assistant resume templates

    Build a professional orthopaedic 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 orthopaedic physician assistant resume.
    Orthopaedic Physician Assistant Resume
    Orthopaedic Physician Assistant Resume
    Orthopaedic Physician Assistant Resume
    Orthopaedic Physician Assistant Resume
    Orthopaedic Physician Assistant Resume
    Orthopaedic Physician Assistant Resume
    Orthopaedic Physician Assistant Resume
    Orthopaedic Physician Assistant Resume
    Orthopaedic Physician Assistant Resume
  6. Apply for orthopaedic physician assistant jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for an orthopaedic physician assistant job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first orthopaedic physician assistant job

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Average orthopaedic physician assistant salary

The average orthopaedic physician assistant salary in the United States is $189,482 per year or $91 per hour. Orthopaedic physician assistant salaries range between $104,000 and $344,000 per year.

Average orthopaedic physician assistant salary
$189,482 Yearly
$91.10 hourly

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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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