Best Careers 2009: Physician Assistant

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You can have any bachelors degree. Just have to make sure you satisfy the prerequisites of the school which in themselves can take more than 2 more years or more if you don't have a background in bio/chem for example.

FOR JACK of NE 1:08PM December 09, 2011

Can you have any bachelor's degree upon going into a PA program? For example, I'm thinking about becoming an athletic trainer. After I get a bachelor's in that can I choose to enter a PA program?

Jack Johnson of MD 10:51AM December 02, 2011

Upon reading this article I have to say that the author does not know much about medical assistants. I felt as though I needed to set the record straight. I used to be an MA prior to becoming a PA. MA's do much more then take a BP. They can administer medications, draw blood, perform EKG's, perform throat cultures, vital signs, perform U/A's, administer injections, perform wound care, etc. The duties that can be performed will vary from state to state. It will also depend on their certifications. It was being an MA that brought me to where I am today. I completely fell in love with medicine. Pay scale will vary when it comes to being a PA, it may also depend on your specialty. However it is definitely worth it.

Annie Condon of NJ 12:22PM November 18, 2011

The starting pay should be around 80k to start, 3-4 weeks vacation, paid CME, Don't let anyone low ball you. They know we are broke after PA school.

dan of NY 8:00PM July 24, 2011

I am wondering what is the starting salary for a physician assistant? I researched and continuously came up with the staring salary being under 80k if this is true than i feel that PA's are not getting the full pay considering that they do 80% of what a physician does. Don't get me wrong I am defiantly not all about the pay check but I was just curious to why they don't meet the six figure standard.

Khan Yoski of CA 5:13AM July 24, 2011

I am currently in PA school (a dual degree with MPH), and it is absolutely fantastic. Don't get me wrong, it is by no means a walk in the park, but I can honestly say that I feel like this is the right choice for me. The course work is intense, because it is all of the same material you would learn in medical school condensed into half the time. This is not the path for those who don't want to be studying for 4-6 hours every night after 8 hours of classes!
I was accepted into medical school, and quite a few of my cohorts were as well, but the choice that I made was based on a work-life balance that I will undoubtedly have once I graduate. I highly recommend this path to anyone who is very interested in science, medicine and people in general. You might want to reconsider applying if you need your ego stroked, because the fact is that while PA's do 80% of the work that an MD/DO does, our job is intrinsically tied to that of the physician. You need to have the right personality, as well as skill set, to do this job.

Alex of PA 7:22PM June 27, 2011

I am going to college right now for PA and it is far from easy. Studying becomes an all day routine and family/friend life becomes close to non-existent. They will test you and push you to your limits to see who will succeed and not give up along the way. They will make you question how smart you are, how determined you are, and if your right for the job. If PA is something that you truly want to do, do it because you have a passion for it, not a passion for the paycheck. If that happens, well, then you just wont make it.

Alyssa of NY 11:07AM June 22, 2011

I think a good major to go to PA school would be Biology with a human emphasis or as the article said, Pre-Med.

Nicole of ID 10:43PM June 07, 2011

If you are not serious about your studies, I would not suggest becoming a PA, to go to PA school, you have to take biochemistry plus anatomy and physiology, among other difficult classes but you can get your bachelors in pretty much anything, you just need to take the pre-requisite classes for PA school. But then PA school will be a lot of studying also, learning how the body works is very scientific. As is learning about how drugs work with the body. I am not a PA but have looked into becoming one. I also went through 2 years of Nursing school and it was very in depth. You learn about all of the diseases, what they do to the body, what drugs can treat the diseases, how the drugs treat the diseases, ect.

Nicole of ID 10:40PM June 07, 2011

If you are not serious about your studies, I would not suggest becoming a PA, to go to PA school, you have to take biochemistry plus anatomy and physiology, among other difficult classes but you can get your bachelors in pretty much anything, you just need to take the pre-requisite classes for PA school. But then PA school will be a lot of studying also, learning how the body works is very scientific. As is learning about how drugs work with the body. I am not a PA but have looked into becoming one. I also went through 2 years of Nursing school and it was very in depth. You learn about all of the diseases, what they do to the body, what drugs can treat the diseases, how the drugs treat the diseases, ect.

Nicole of ID 10:40PM June 07, 2011