Physician Assistant Programs
Physician Assistant programs usually award a Master’s degree upon successful completion and prepare the student for patient care that is almost autonomous. While a physician must still supervise the physician assistant, she can work independently in most situations.
Because of the level of awarded degree, a prospective student must already possess a bachelor’s degree, preferably in a health-related field. Some physician assistant programs also require related work experience.
A strong educational background in biology, chemistry, anatomy and mathematics is imperative for a successful applicant. Fortunately, the top online schools provide ample opportunity to gain not only an appropriate bachelor’s degree but also the in-depth and comprehensive physician assistant programs that fully prepare you for this exciting and vastly rewarding career.
Employment Environments
Successful graduates of physician assistant programs are fully qualified for comprehensive patient care in hospitals, clinics and physicians’ private practices. She can treat patients in community clinics, rehabilitation facilities and both small and large hospitals. She can bring medical care to the infirmed or isolated where primary care is unavailable. A licensed physician assistant can work in the public sector or the private sector and earn respect from both patients and the medical community.
She can diagnose, order lab tests and interpret the results. She can conduct physicals and counsel patients. In some cases, she can even prescribe medication. A physician assistant cannot perform surgery, but she can provide post-surgical care. She can also suture wounds and set fractures.
Salary Estimates and Job Prospects
Whether the student attends a brick-and-mortar school or enrolls in an online university, earning first a bachelor then the masters degree within a distance education scenario, justifiably proud graduates from top-notch degree programs look forward to high salaries in this lucrative field.
The median salary for physician assistants lie in the upper $80,000 range. The highest concentration of physician assistants lie in private practices, hospitals, outpatient care facilities and even in colleges and universities. Within these areas, physicians’ offices average an hourly wage equivalent of $41.90 per hour, while top salaries are projected in specialty hospitals, except substance abuse and psychiatric facilities: $92,260 meets the salary average in those environments.
The highest paying jobs, however, present themselves slightly differently in the industry, including one overlap from above: Specialty hospitals offer a high concentration with respectable wages, but that $92,260 annually represents the lowest annual average among the five major industries, including Accounting and Bookkeeping, Management and Technical Consulting, Office Administrative Services and Employment Services, the top-paying industry with an average annual salary of $104,860.
Not only are the financial rewards substantial in this medical specialty field, employment prospects for physician assistants are bright and continuous. Estimates of industry demand growth reach approximately 34 percent over the next seven years—one of the highest demand growth fields in the country.
Choose your undergraduate program with care as you prepare yourself for a terrific future. Since experience as well as quality online education contributes toward easy acceptance into this upper-level career training, gain experience working within the medical field as well. When you are ready, enroll in any of the physician assistant programs available and create a bright and promising future.
