Wages

Salary of a Physician Assistant in FL

Physician assistants care for the patients under the supervision of the physicians. In fact, the physician assistant does just about everything that a physician does including examining the patient, compiling the medical data, gathering the patient’s history and making a diagnosis. There are medical physician assistants and surgical physician assistants and they both perform similar tasks with a few minor variations depending on the patient’s requirement. Needless to say, they are expected to have excellent educational qualifications from accredited universities. They must also fulfill the State’s requirement in order to practice.

There are around 81,420 physician assistants and they earn an hourly mean wage of $41.89 and annual mean wage of $87,140. The median wage is $41.54 hourly and $87,140 annually. However, the median hourly wage is $41.54 and median annual wage is $86,410. The tenth percentile below the median wage earns $27.62 hourly and $57,450 annually. Those in the 90^th percentile are paid $56.60 hourly and $117,720 annually.

Physicians’ offices have around 45,070 jobs at the salary of $41.90 hourly and $87,150 annually. The next highest number can be found in medical and surgical hospitals with 18,710 jobs. Here, they earn an hourly $42.94 and annual $89,310. It is in the specialty hospitals that the physician assistant earns the highest at an hourly mean wage of $44.53 and annual mean wage of $92,620.

Florida has a few top paying metropolitan areas and for this occupation, West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach has 140 jobs. Here, the hourly mean wage is $57.07 and annual mean wage is $118,710. Tampa has a median wage of $84,724. The employees in the tenth percentile take home an annual wage of $70,698; those in the 25^th percentile earn $77,382. The 75^th and the 90^th percentiles above the median wage earn $92,993 and $100,522, respectively. The capital city of Florida is Tallahassee and physician assistants here earn a median wage of $82,483. The tenth percentile earns $68,828; the 25^th percentile earns $75,335. The 75^th and the 90^th percentiles earn $90,533 and $97,863, respectively. Jacksonville is the largest city in Florida. Here, the physician assistant is paid a median wage of $86,073. The tenth and the 25^th percentiles earn $71,823 and 78,614, respectively; while the 75^th and the 90^th percentiles earn $94,474 and $102,123, respectively.

Programs accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant are considered highly valuable to an entry level position. The aspirants are also expected to have prior experience in the health care field in the form of internships or nursing. Some of them come with experience in paramedics. Physician assistants must have passed the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination, conducted by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA). In order to retain the certification throughout the career, one must qualify in a recertification exam every six years. There are other possibilities for the assistant to pursue in line with health care; for example, internal medicine, emergency care, pediatrics, or surgery. With accumulated clinical experience, physician assistants can have increased responsibilities and better salaries.

Physician Assistant Salary in TX

Physician assistants also practice medicine; however, only under the supervision of experienced physicians. There are graduate programs from accredited institutions so that aspiring physicians may be trained in any of the specialized fields of medicine or health care. This could include emergency care, nursing and other preventive health care.  A physician assistant would have to be certified and renew this certification every six years so that he may practice in the profession without any interruption.

From 74,800 jobs in 2008, there is a projected growth of 39%; thus, increasing the employment levels to 103,900 jobs by 2018. In 2008, physician assistants earned a median annual wage was $81,230. From the statistics of 2010, there are 81,420 jobs and they pay a mean hourly wage of $41.89 and annual wage of $87,140. The 10^th percentile takes home an hourly wage of $27.62 and annual wage of $57,450; the 25^th percentile is paid a wage of $35.12 and annual wage of $73,040; the 75^th percentile is paid a wage of $48.89 and annual wage of $101,690; and the 90^th percentile is paid an hourly wage of $56.60 and annual wage of $117,720.

The highest level of employment is in the physicians’ offices. This is followed by general hospitals, outpatient care centers, specialty clinics etc. There are 45,070 jobs available in the many physicians’ offices and they pay an hourly mean wage of $41.90 and annual mean wage of $87,150. The general and surgical hospitals may have fewer jobs at 18,710; but, pay a higher hourly mean wage at $42.94 and annual mean wage of $89,310.

Texas has 4,430 jobs and the physician assistants here are paid an hourly mean wage of $46.61 and annual mean wage of $96,940. This also makes it one of the highest paying states. The top paying metropolitan area within Texas, Amarillo has 40 jobs and pays an hourly mean wage of $65.20 and annual mean wage of $135,620. Brownsville-Harlingen also has 40 jobs and pays an hourly mean wage of $59.44 and annual mean wage of $123,640. Lubbock has physicians’ assistants earning an hourly mean wage of $56.34 and annual mean wage of $117,180. Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown has 1,070 jobs at an hourly mean wage of $53.71 and annual mean wage of $111,720 while Tyler has only 120 jobs and pays an hourly mean wage of $53.22 and annual mean wage of $110,700.

In a large team of medical professionals, employing physician assistants has been more cost-effective. Therefore, in a small hospital or clinic, there would be more physician assistants per senior doctor or surgeon. They can perform most of the tasks including preliminary examinations and they can give the senior physician a break from basic exams and report taking. The salary varies depending on the level of experience and environment in which the physician is employed. For instance, a full time job in a large hospital will pay a higher wage than one in a smaller clinic away from the city. Some employers also pay wages with benefits such as insurance and licensing fees.

Physician Assistant Salary in CA

California is one of the most populous states and is also the third largest in area. Its capital city is Sacramento. It also has eight of the most populated cities of the country. Los Angeles is the second largest city in the country. Most of the cities fall into any one of the five metropolitan areas including Greater Los Angeles, San Francisco bay Area and Greater Sacramento Area.

Physician assistants have the highest employment levels in the state at 9,480 jobs and at an hourly mean wage of $45.03 and annual mean wage of $93,660. They are supervised by the physicians and are expected to provide a number of healthcare services such as performing diagnosis, therapy, run the tests, record medical histories, and in some cases even treat the patients. A physician assistant also plays a managerial role in keeping track of the inventory on the supplies and equipment. He gets to supervise medical technicians.

There were around 74,800 jobs in 2008 and there is an expected growth of 39% increasing the jobs to 103,900 by 2018. The median annual wage was $81,230 in 2008. There are 81,420 jobs as of 2010 and the hourly median wage is $41.54 and annual wage is $86,410. According to the National estimates, the 10^th percentile earns an hourly wage of $27.62 and annual wage of $57,450; the 25^th percentile earns a wage of $35.12 and annual wage of $73,040; the 75^th percentile earns a wage of $48.89 and annual wage of $101,690; and the 90^th percentile earns an hourly wage of $56.60 and annual wage of $117,720.

Physician assistants are employed in offices of physicians and take home an hourly mean wage of $41.90 and annual mean wage of $87,150. In general medical hospitals, there are 18,710 jobs and the hourly mean wage is $42.94 and annual mean wage is $89,310. It is in the outpatient care centers that they are paid the highest at an hourly mean wage of $43.22 and annual mean wage of $89,900.

The metropolitan area of Los Angeles – Long Beach – Glendale has 2,530 jobs and it pays an hourly mean wage of $44.01 and annual mean wage of $91,540. The other metropolitan area of Oakland-Fremont-Hayward has 1,450 jobs and pays an hourly mean wage of $49.67 and annual wage of $103,310.

Physician assistants find employment at specialty hospitals and offices of other health practitioners too. They earn an hourly mean wage of $44.53 and annual mean wage of $92,620 and hourly mean wage of $36.61 and annual mean wage of $76,140, respectively. They are expected to be graduates of an accredited program apart from prior work experience in the healthcare field such as nursing or emergency care. Many of these programs include clinical training in specific fields of medicine.  Every state requires them to be Physician Assistant Certified. They are also expected to complete hundred hours of medical education in a period of two years. This, along with a re-certification exam every six years keeps them on their toes and also ensures that their skills do not get outdated.