5 Reasons Why You Should Want to Become a Physician Assistant

Choosing a career path is both exhilarating and nerve-wracking. I have been there, hemming and hawing over what to major in and what path to take. For the longest time, I thought I wanted to go to medical school (because I didn’t know about really any other career paths). It wasn’t until I got sick during my freshman year of college and was forced to reevaluate what I wanted to do with my life that I started to explore other careers in the healthcare field.

I ended up learning about physician assistants thanks to a new friend I made at school. Without her, I likely wouldn’t have been introduced to this career path (at least not when I needed to be) that has led me to my dream job. I now want to pay it forward and help others interested in the healthcare field, who don’t quite know what they need to know, before making these big life decisions.

A career as a physician assistant (PA) has been in the top 5 best jobs for the past few years and for good reason. This article is going to discuss 5 important reasons why you should want to become a physician assistant.

Pros and Cons of Working in Dermatology

It is a rewarding career where you get to help people

One of my favorite parts of my job is when a patient’s skin condition has drastically improved with my treatment regimen. You can see the physical and psychological changes in these patients. They are just so thankful. I love before and after photos of my acne patients. They initially come see me with a face full of cystic acne and their self-confidence is obviously affected. Fast forward to the after photos when their face is clear and they’re all smiles. This is why I love what I do.

When college students are considering their career path many are not considering the amount of impact they can make as part of their decision process. Most of the focus is on money (and I get that). As some of my friends have gotten older they have voiced this feeling of unease about their current careers. While a lot of them are doing financially well they do not feel as fulfilled as they thought they would at this stage of life. They have pinpointed their degree of discontentment to the fact that they weren’t making a true impact in their community.

While you may not consider your impact on the world when you are young, this is something that becomes important if you instead find yourself in a less impactful career. If you become a physician assistant I can almost gurantee you won’t ever have that feeling because you are constantly helping people and changing their lives daily.

The time and money it takes to start practicing medicine is less than that of a physician

Quite obviously, there are other healthcare careers out there and you can make a positive impact doing any one of them. Let me tell you two reasons why you should want to become a physician assistant over becoming a physician. On average it takes a physician 8.5 years to start practicing medicine autonomously. This includes 4 years of medical school with an average length of 4.5 years in residency. Whereas, a physician assistant program is on average 27 months long. The time in school is drastically less if you go to PA school versus medical school.

Not only does medical school mean more time in school but it also means a lot more student loans to pay off later. Medical school is much more expensive with the average medical student owing $250,990 in total student loan debt. You can compare this to PAs who owe a median of $112,500. (Still not a small number by any means.)

The pay is competitive

The average salary for a physician assistant in 2021 was $121,530 according to US News. I know from personal experience that the potential is much more based on specialty and experience. I know of several PAs who are making more than 200k per year. The top-paid specialties are cardiothoracic surgery, dermatology, and emergency medicine.

When compared to the average salary in the United States which is $58,260 according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, PAs make slightly 2 times more.

More job demand, which means more job security

The number of job openings for PAs is rising due to the shortage of medical providers in the United States. More and more physician assistant programs are opening up to help meet this demand. I expect this trend of choosing the PA path will continue as younger generations are starting to favor work-life balance more and more.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there will be an estimated 27.6% growth in employment until the year 2031 for PAs. In this period of time, they estimate 38,400 jobs will open.

You can have a flexible work-life balance

This is dependent on specialty, but there can be a great work-life balance if you find the right job. I am fortunate enough to say I have found said job. As a dermatology PA, I work 8-4 Monday through Friday. Most of my colleagues only work 4 days a week. The PAs at our practice do not have to work weekends and do not have to take call.

Flexibility is a huge benefit in general. As a PA if you decide you no longer like the specialty you are working in, you can switch to another without any additional training needed. This is (for the most part) different than for a physician or even a nurse practitioner in some cases.

If you are questioning whether or not a career as a physician assistant is right for you, know it is a great career and I am very satisfied with my decision to pursue it. I would really take a look at what is holding you back and then delve into why it is holding you back. For example, if you know to your core you will not be happy unless you have full autonomy and can start a medical practice easily if you desire, then a career as a PA is probably not right for you. You should consider applying to medical school.

If you are looking for a meaningful well-paid career where you don’t need to be in school for almost a decade then you don’t need to look any further. Are you considering applying to PA school but aren’t sure if it is the right move for you? Comment below with your concerns so we can discuss them!