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More Money but Less Satisfaction: Medscape Physician Assistant Compensation Report 2023
Roni Robbins | June 2, 2023
| Contributor Information
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More Money but Less Satisfaction: Medscape Physician Assistant Compensation Report 2023
Roni Robbins | June 2, 2023 | Contributor Information
Physician assistants (PAs) earned more in 2022 and yet a smaller share of them felt fairly compensated. Each year since 2019, Medscape surveys found smaller percentages of PAs who were satisfied with their income.
Still, the majority of PAs in this report were hopeful that their income would increase.
In this report, gender is based on how physicians self-identified in our survey.
Some totals in this presentation do not equal 100% because of rounding.
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More Money but Less Satisfaction: Medscape Physician Assistant Compensation Report 2023
Roni Robbins | June 2, 2023 | Contributor Information
Average PA compensation rose about 4% over Medscape's report last year ($129,000). On average, base income for 2022 was also up ($118,000 in 2021), as were annual bonuses ($2000).
The PA pay gap in 2022 comprised 11.6% more earnings for men (average compensation of $144,000 vs $129,000 for women). Also, experience meant higher earnings. PAs aged 45 years or older, on average, earned about 13.2% more than did their younger peers ($146,000 vs $129,000).
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More Money but Less Satisfaction: Medscape Physician Assistant Compensation Report 2023
Roni Robbins | June 2, 2023 | Contributor Information
Results were similar to last year's report.
PAs younger than 45 years were more confident, with 63% reporting their income increased in 2022 compared with 50% of their older peers. Older PAs were more concerned about a drop in income (11% compared with 6% of their younger peers).
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More Money but Less Satisfaction: Medscape Physician Assistant Compensation Report 2023
Roni Robbins | June 2, 2023 | Contributor Information
PAs favored family medicine and emergency medicine at higher rates than they did certain other specialties, which repeats a pattern seen in previous reports.
The American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA) also reported family medicine and emergency medicine among the top specialties that PAs choose.
"PAs are deeply motivated to provide care to patients where it is needed most," says Jennifer M. Orozco, DMSc, PA-C, DFAAPA, president and board chair at the AAPA. "I think that passion is a driving force for many in choosing family medicine or emergency medicine as their specialties."
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More Money but Less Satisfaction: Medscape Physician Assistant Compensation Report 2023
Roni Robbins | June 2, 2023 | Contributor Information
"Being fairly compensated for the time it takes to document, review labs, return phone calls, and other 'non-income producing' tasks increases satisfaction, because those employees know that their time is directly being compensated," says Talia Sierra, DMSc, PA-C, an associate professor in the PA program at Idaho State University.
The proportion of PAs who felt fairly compensated has dropped over time, from 74% in our 2020 report.
Gender and age didn't seem to play a role in whether PAs felt fairly paid. Male and female PAs and those older or younger than 45 years were pretty equally divided.
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More Money but Less Satisfaction: Medscape Physician Assistant Compensation Report 2023
Roni Robbins | June 2, 2023 | Contributor Information
PAs were at least three times more likely to work in a medical office or clinic than in an emergency department, an acute care hospital's inpatient unit, or any other setting. The results resembled what PAs told us in the two prior reports.
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More Money but Less Satisfaction: Medscape Physician Assistant Compensation Report 2023
Roni Robbins | June 2, 2023 | Contributor Information
The vast majority of PAs in our survey worked either for a medical group or hospital system.
That scenario hasn't changed much since our first report in 2020. It can be difficult for PAs to be self-employed or independent contractors because many states require them to collaborate with a physician on medical decisions, such as prescribing certain medications.
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More Money but Less Satisfaction: Medscape Physician Assistant Compensation Report 2023
Roni Robbins | June 2, 2023 | Contributor Information
PAs working in acute care saw their average compensation rise from $131,000 in 2021. The average pay for those working in a medical office or clinic was up from $124,000 in 2021.
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More Money but Less Satisfaction: Medscape Physician Assistant Compensation Report 2023
Roni Robbins | June 2, 2023 | Contributor Information
Sierra says she believes PAs who are paid hourly generally feel more satisfied at work than do those paid a flat-rate salary.
"Our profession requires a significant amount of work that occurs outside of the face-to-face office visit," Sierra says. "So, being paid for those hours could lead to higher satisfaction vs when you are salaried, and you get paid the same for doing 50 hours as you do for 80 hours per week."
Male PAs said that they earn more than their female counterparts across the board, whether they are salaried or hourly. Among hourly PAs, the average pay was $72 per hour for men and $68 per hour for women.
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More Money but Less Satisfaction: Medscape Physician Assistant Compensation Report 2023
Roni Robbins | June 2, 2023 | Contributor Information
Possibly because of the division of traditional family responsibilities, male PAs were somewhat more likely to work full-time hours than were their female counterparts (93% vs 84%). PAs younger than 45 years were somewhat likelier to work full-time than were those aged 45 years or older (89% vs 82%).
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More Money but Less Satisfaction: Medscape Physician Assistant Compensation Report 2023
Roni Robbins | June 2, 2023 | Contributor Information
Sierra believes much of the gender pay gap among PAs is due to men more often aggressively negotiating salaries compared with women.
"Bringing awareness to these issues is paramount in closing the gender wage gap," she says. "Providing negotiation strategy education, particularly in women and minority populations, is essential in overcoming these challenges." Implicit bias may also play a role, she adds.
In 2021, male PAs' salary was $140,000 on average compared with their female counterparts' $124,000. Men earned an hourly rate of $70 in 2021 compared with $66 for women.
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More Money but Less Satisfaction: Medscape Physician Assistant Compensation Report 2023
Roni Robbins | June 2, 2023 | Contributor Information
Most PAs surveyed don't hold certificates of added qualifications (CAQs), although their ranks declined since last year's report (72%). The National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants began the CAQ program in 2009.
Why might a majority of PAs opt against seeking a CAQ? As Medscape reported last year in a separate poll of PAs, 72% said that they doubted the CAQ's value to their careers. However, PAs younger than 45 years made up a greater share of those who said that they were thinking about pursuing a CAQ in the future than did older PAs (35% vs 19%).
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More Money but Less Satisfaction: Medscape Physician Assistant Compensation Report 2023
Roni Robbins | June 2, 2023 | Contributor Information
Prior to this year, Medscape found that PAs with CAQs on average earned more than those without one. Still, Michael A. Sharma, MPAS, PA-C, an emergency medicine and urgent care PA in Dallas, believes that holding the advanced certificate hasn't substantially affected compensation in the field.
He hypothesized that earning a CAQ might lead to preferential treatment in terms of hiring or compensation, but he doesn't think it earns additional respect from doctors or others.
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More Money but Less Satisfaction: Medscape Physician Assistant Compensation Report 2023
Roni Robbins | June 2, 2023 | Contributor Information
PAs younger than 45 years were more likely to hold a master's degree than were their older counterparts (93% vs 61%).
Sierra explains that PAs whose collegiate educations stopped with a bachelor's degree typically have worked in the profession longer. When many of those PAs started in the profession, it was a certificate program, she says.
"It is only recently that PA programs were required to be a master's degree, so you can still find fairly recent grads with a bachelor's degree," Sharma says. "However, the vast majority of programs have been master's programs for quite a while."
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More Money but Less Satisfaction: Medscape Physician Assistant Compensation Report 2023
Roni Robbins | June 2, 2023 | Contributor Information
Sharma, who is also an adjunct professor of PA studies, says the higher compensation for PAs whose formal education ended at a bachelor's degree probably reflects the fact that they have worked for a longer time in the profession.
"There may still be a handful of PA programs that award a bachelor's degree at graduation, but I would caution PAs-to-be against entering those programs," he says. "Many PA job postings these days require the master's degree."
In last year's report, PAs with a bachelor's degree said that they earned $138,000 on average compared with $127,000 for those with a master's and $136,000 for those with a doctorate.
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More Money but Less Satisfaction: Medscape Physician Assistant Compensation Report 2023
Roni Robbins | June 2, 2023 | Contributor Information
PAs who have been in the profession for at least 21 years enjoyed a larger compensation hike since last year's report (about 7%) than did less-experienced PAs.
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More Money but Less Satisfaction: Medscape Physician Assistant Compensation Report 2023
Roni Robbins | June 2, 2023 | Contributor Information
Sharma says he believes "higher cost of living likely wipes out some of the increased earning potential of PAs in the Pacific region," which includes Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, and Hawaii.
"Even in regions that are considered to be lower-earning, I'm sure there are great opportunities that could be negotiated for the right PA in the right position," he adds.
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More Money but Less Satisfaction: Medscape Physician Assistant Compensation Report 2023
Roni Robbins | June 2, 2023 | Contributor Information
Regardless of whether PAs practice in a major city or out in the country, on average, their compensation is similar. That repeats a pattern we've seen over the past three reports.
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More Money but Less Satisfaction: Medscape Physician Assistant Compensation Report 2023
Roni Robbins | June 2, 2023 | Contributor Information
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More Money but Less Satisfaction: Medscape Physician Assistant Compensation Report 2023
Roni Robbins | June 2, 2023 | Contributor Information
Medscape Physician Compensation Report 2023: Your Income Versus Your Peers'
Which specialties earn the most, and which physicians work the longest hours? Our 2023 Physician Compensation Report tells what's happening with doctors' income.Medscape Features Slideshow, Apr 2023
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