As a physician assistant, you’re qualified to perform a variety of medical tasks, such as examining, diagnosing, and treating patients— all under the supervision of a physician. This is because your training doesn’t require you to attend medical school and complete a residency as a physician does. However, you must still complete a specialized medical training program and gain experience as a physician.
Becoming a physician assistant is a smart career choice. You spend less money on schooling, can switch specializations easier than an MD, and can still work anywhere a physician can in most cases. Here are some examples of where physician assistants can be employed.
Primary Care Facilities
More than half of all physician assistants work in a primary care facility, which includes doctor’s offices and urgent care centers. When working in a primary care facility, you’re more likely to have traditional hours, such as working 8 AM or 9 AM until 5 PM or 6 PM, depending on the office. Working under the supervision of a physician, you’ll be able to treat patients for both illnesses (e.g., the cold, flu, or other respiratory infection) and injuries (e.g., broken bones, muscle injuries, rashes, etc.).
While primary care facilities focus on total body health, some facilities allow you to focus on a specific group of people. These include geriatrics (senior citizen care), pediatrics (children’s health), and obstetrics/gynecology (women’s health). Because most health insurance policies require people to have a primary care provider, these types of medical facilities are the easiest for physician assistants to find jobs.
Secondary Care Facilities
When primary care physicians refer their patients to a specialist, this is known as a secondary care facility, and physician assistants can also be employed in these settings. Examples of a specialist include:
- Cardiologists (heart and blood vessels)
- Dermatologists (skin, nails, and hair)
- Endocrinologists (diabetes and thyroid disease)
- Nephrologists (kidneys)
- Oncologists (cancer)
They focus on a specific part of the body or a specific type of procedure, such as orthodontists performing advanced dental procedures (whereas dentists examine the teeth). This type of medical facility is also pretty common, so if you specialize in a particular area of medicine you’ll be able to find work in these facilities as a physician assistant.
Tertiary Care Facilities
Tertiary care is also specialized care, but it usually occurs in a hospital setting. A little over 25% of all physician assistants are employed in hospitals or other tertiary care settings, so this is another fairly popular workplace for physician assistants. Examples of specialized care include:
- Complex treatments and procedures
- Dialysis
- Neuro, plastic, and other types of surgeries
- Severe burn treatments
Just keep in mind that not all hospitals may be able to perform these advanced treatments, so look into actually specialized care treatment facilities if you’re looking for employment as a physician assistant in specialized care. These positions also may not have your typical 9 to 5 working hours, especially if you’re working in a hospital. However, most physicians and physician assistants are used to these types of work shifts.
Quaternary Care Facilities
Quaternary care is highly specialized but typically rare at the same time. Finding work in a clinical setting that provides quaternary can be especially challenging because not every hospital or tertiary care center offers this type of treatment. Usually, these facilities provide experimental care for those experiencing rare illnesses. It’s not impossible to find work in this type of medical facility, but it’s not as common as the other three types.
Can Physician Assistants Work in Other Care Settings?
Physician assistants can also be found working in a variety of different healthcare settings. These include hospice care, palliative care, and even in-home health care as a part of a team of other professionals. However, you’ll likely need different certifications to work in these settings, depending on laws set by your state.
The bottom line is that there are many healthcare and medical settings that will employ physician assistants. You can even be employed in an educational setting, though the majority of physician assistants are employed in medical clinics. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that the job outlook for physician assistants will grow much faster than average over the next 10 years, so finding a job won’t be hard to do.
When looking for a job as a physician assistant, narrow down your job search to the type of facility you’d prefer to work in. Of course, if you have a specialty you’ll want to look for jobs in secondary, tertiary, or even quaternary care.