How Much Do Physician Assistants Make

Most people have at least a vague idea of what a physician does and a ballpark idea of a physician’s salary.  But what about a physician assistant? 

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics breaks down the duties and salary of those who serve the role of physician assistant in the Occupational Outlook Handbook section of their website.

Under what a physician assistant does, the website lists the following as typical duties:

~Take or review patients’ medical histories

~Examine patients

~Order and interpret diagnostic tests, such as x rays or blood tests

~Diagnose a patient’s injury or illness

~Give treatment, such as setting broken bones and immunizing patients

~Educate and counsel patients and their families—for example, answering questions about how to care for a child with asthma

~Prescribe medicine

~Assess and record a patient’s progress

~Research the latest treatments to ensure the quality of patient care

~Conduct or participate in outreach programs, talking to groups about managing diseases and promoting wellness

In terms of pay, the website states: “The median annual wage for physician assistants was $108,610 in May 2018. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $69,120, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $151,850.”

The website also lists “the median annual wages for physician assistants in the top industries in which they worked” specifically in May of 2018:

For more information, visit the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/physician-assistants.htm#tab-1

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