Yahoo Finance Physician Assistants Graduate to a Healthy Job Market
Working as a high school athletic trainer in rural Illinois, Timothy Mangold often teamed up with a local physician assistant specializing in orthopedics.
"She was really down to earth, and had a lot of empathy for her patients," Mangold recalls of the experience, which led to his making a late-20s career switch. "It seemed like being a PA would be a great way to help people."
Physician assistants examine patients, diagnose injuries and illnesses and provide treatment under the supervision of a physician or surgeon. Mangold estimates that he can do "80 percent of what a doctor would do."
As a first step, he had to take some undergraduate prerequisites -- including organic chemistry and microbiology -- that his 2004 bachelor's in athletic training from North Dakota State University did not require. He then entered the University of Iowa's Master of Physician Assistant Studies program, which runs 28 months, often sharing classes with medical students. By his second year, he was seeing patients at the university's hospital and at other facilities in the state.
[Learn about schools with top-ranked physician assistant programs.]
After graduating in 2013, Mangold passed the national certification exam and was hired by the Vinton Family Medical Clinic in Vinton, Iowa, one of Virginia Gay Hospital's outposts.
"I have autonomy, unless I have a question or concern for my supervising physician," says Mangold, 34, who sees about 20 patients daily. He reviews patients' medical histories, does physical exams, orders and interprets x-rays and other diagnostic tests, treats a whole range of ailments from bronchitis to diabetes, writes prescriptions and removes moles or cysts and performs other office-based procedures.
While one-third of PAs choose a career in primary care, others work in medical specialties, including emergency medicine, orthopedics and psychiatry. Their tasks depend largely on the specialty and what their supervising physician needs them to do.
A PA working in surgery, for example, may close incisions and provide care before and after the operation. As America's population ages, PAs will increasingly be needed to treat the kinds of chronic ailments that come with an older population, like diabetes and heart disease.
[Consider becoming a physician's assistant instead of a medical doctor.]
The Affordable Care Act also has added to the ranks of insured individuals, who now are more able to seek primary care. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects job growth of 38 percent between 2012 and 2022. The money is good, too. The median annual wage for PAs was $90,930 in 2012, with the top 10 percent making more than $124,770.
Physician assistants aren't the only health jobs that are taking off. Here are a few other booming career options.
Physical therapist : As the U.S. population expands and baby boomers get creakier, PTs will find plenty of opportunities to help the injured and ill improve their movement and manage their pain. In fact, the government estimates 36 percent growth by 2022 -- or nearly 124,000 openings.
You'll need a doctor of physical therapy degree, which typically takes three years. The median annual wage for PTs was $79,860 in 2012, but leading earners pulled in more than $112,000.
[Find out about how medical schools are teaching the doctors of tomorrow.]
Dentist: The demand for dentists is expected to be particularly strong in rural areas in coming years, translating to more than 59,000 positions by 2022. Dental school requires four years, and specialists like orthodontists and endodontists generally need another two to four years.
The hard work pays off, though. The typical general dentist made $149,310 in 2012 with the top 10 percent boasting $187,000.
Optometrist: It's the fading eyesight of America's aging population that is boosting the job market among optometrists, although some specialize in treating infants and children. Optometrists, who must have a doctor of optometry degree, examine, diagnose, treat and manage various eye diseases and injuries.
The BLS projects 24 percent growth by 2022. Median salaries ran about $97,820 in 2012, although earnings for some topped $184,500.
This story is excerpted from the U.S. News "Best Graduate Schools 2016" guidebook, which features in-depth articles, rankings and data.
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