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Roni Robbins | June 3, 2022 | Contributor Information
Much has improved for physician assistants (PAs) during the pandemic, which is in its third year. Medscape's third annual Physician Assistant Compensation Report reflects gains in earnings made in the profession since we first started to survey PA income.
This year's report is based on data from over 5000 PAs, primarily full-time professionals, that were collected between mid-November 2021 and early January 2022. Compensation seems to have rebounded since the early days of COVID, when PAs were confronting pay cuts, layoffs, and even practice closures and were struggling to keep up with daily battles to control the virus.
Roni Robbins | June 3, 2022 | Contributor Information
Among PAs who are not currently employed (only full-time PAs were included in the survey), one fifth cited COVID-19 as a reason they were not working, with 14% retiring earlier than planned.
Roni Robbins | June 3, 2022 | Contributor Information
Overall, compensation increased to $129,000 from last year's $126,000, according to Medscape's findings. The bump wasn't as pronounced as that between 2021 and 2020, though, when annual earnings averaged $118,000. Other financial figures also show incremental improvements since the 2020 report.
This year's survey found that PAs aged 45 years or older earn about 10% more in total compensation ($137,000) than their counterparts who are younger than 45 years ($125,000).
PAs who have been working for more than 10 years earn significantly more ($137,000) than their less experienced counterparts ($122,000). Male PAs earn significantly more ($140,000) than their female counterparts ($124,000).
Most respondents didn't have productivity/incentive pay, an annual bonus, or other PA-related compensation.
Roni Robbins | June 3, 2022 | Contributor Information
Dermatology, critical care, and emergency medicine are among the highest-earning PA specialties in our report, which includes specialties with a base size of at least 100 respondents.
Average income for family medicine PAs increased from last year, from $117,000 to $121,000, and for internal medicine PAs, from $121,000 to $126,000.
Roni Robbins | June 3, 2022 | Contributor Information
"I personally have always felt fairly compensated," said Jonathan Baird, PA-C, DMSc. "Nevertheless, I know colleagues who feel a degree of frustration being paid less for the same service performed by a physician counterpart." Baird is assistant professor of the PA program at Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions in Provo, Utah, and part-time practicing PA for the nearby United Way of Utah County Volunteer Care Clinic.
More PAs in Medscape's survey felt that they are being fairly compensated (56%) than not (44%). However, PAs are less likely to feel fairly compensated this year than in the previous year (67%).
More male PAs believe that they are being fairly compensated (61%) than do females (54%). And PAs younger than 45 (46%) less often feel fairly compensated for their work than do their older counterparts (41%).
Roni Robbins | June 3, 2022 | Contributor Information
Whether salaried or hourly, PAs with productivity/incentive pay earn higher incomes. PAs who work on an hourly rate basis make 5% more than salaried PAs.
Men earned more than women across all income types.
Compensation for PAs earning a salary increased from $122,000 last year to $124,000 this year, and PAs who received a salary plus productive/incentive pay saw their earnings increase from $135,000 to $141,000.
Roni Robbins | June 3, 2022 | Contributor Information
Male PAs who are paid a salary, an hourly rate, or a salary plus productivity/incentive pay earn 8%-12% more than their female counterparts.
Earnings among PAs who receive a salary or a salary plus income increased compared with last year. Salaried women saw a larger income jump than did salaried men, from $117,000 to $121,000.
Men receiving salary plus productive/incentive pay saw a hike in income from $146,000 last year to $153,000 this year; for women, this figure increased from $128,000 to $134,000.
Roni Robbins | June 3, 2022 | Contributor Information
The majority of PAs are employed full-time. "Most jobs appear to be full-time positions," Baird said. "Some of my academic colleagues have a difficult time finding clinical part-time positions as a result."
More male PAs (92%) than female PAs (82%) are employed full-time.
Roni Robbins | June 3, 2022 | Contributor Information
Twenty-eight percent of PAs respondents hold Certificates of Added Qualifications (CAQs).
Of the specialties involving PAs who hold CAQs, emergency medicine ranked first. Men (8%) are more likely than women (5%) to hold an emergency medicine CAQ.
On average, PAs with CAQs earn more than PAs without CAQs.
Average earnings for CAQ holders and non–CAQ holders both increased from last year; CAQ holders earned $131,000 vs $128,000 in 2021 and non-CAQ holders earned $128,000 vs $126,000.
Roni Robbins | June 3, 2022 | Contributor Information
According to the Medscape survey, PAs with a bachelor's degree rank highest in earnings, which might come as a surprise to those with more education. The majority of PAs with a master's degree have other features linked with lower income: They are younger than 45 years (75%) and have shorter careers (63% have worked 10 years or less). Among PAs with a master's degree, 70% are women compared with 60% for bachelor's degree holders.
About 8 in 10 PAs have a master's degree.
But there's good news across the board. Compensation for those with a bachelor's or a master's degree has increased compared with last year. PAs with a master's degree earned $127,000 vs $124,000 last year, and those with a bachelor's degree earned $138,000 vs $135,000.
Roni Robbins | June 3, 2022 | Contributor Information
Income increases with years in practice.
Compensation for PAs who have been in practice for 10 years or less increased compared with last year. Those with 6-10 years of experience saw their earnings increase from $129,000 to $132,000, and those with less than 5 years, $112,000 to $116,000.
Roni Robbins | June 3, 2022 | Contributor Information
Earnings rank highest among PAs in the Pacific region. The median earnings for PAs in this region were $140,000.
Average earnings for PAs significantly increased among two regions compared to 2021 data: West South Central, with earnings rising from $126,000 to $133,000, and Mid-Atlantic, rising the same amount from $124,000 to $131,000.
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