Occupation Profile

Physician Assistants

(SOC Code : 29-1071)

in California

Provide healthcare services typically performed by a physician, under the supervision of a physician. Conduct complete physicals, provide treatment, and counsel patients. May, in some cases, prescribe medication. Must graduate from an accredited educational program for physician assistants. Exclude "Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics" (29-2041), "Medical Assistants" (31-9092), and "Registered Nurses" (29-1111).

Employers are usually looking for candidates with a Bachelor's degree .

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Occupational Wages

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Area	Year	Period	Hourly Mean	Hourly by Percentile
				25th	Median	75th
California	2012	1st Qtr	$46.23	$39.23	$45.77	$54.58

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Occupational Projections of Employment (also called "Outlook" or "Demand")

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Area	Estimated Year-Projected Year	Employment		Employment Change		Annual Avg Openings
		Estimated	Projected	Number	Percent
California	2010 - 2020	8,300	10,400	2,100	25.3	380

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Job Openings from JobCentral National Labor Exchange

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Within miles of Zip Code.

Possible Licenses Required and Issuing Authority

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License Title

License Authority

Physician Assistant

Department of Consumer Affairs
Physician Assistant Committee
www.pac.ca.gov

About Licenses

Industries Employing This Occupation (click on Industry Title to View Employers List)

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Industry Title

Number of Employers in State of California

Percent of Total
Employment for Occupation in State of California

Offices of Physicians

62,928

53.2%

Outpatient Care Centers

6,487

22.1%

General Medical and Surgical Hospitals

1,393

12.6%

Colleges and Universities

1,979

4.2%

About Staffing Patterns

Training Programs (click on title for more information)

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Program Title

Physician Assistant

About Training & Apprenticeships

About This Occupation (from O*NET - The Occupation Information Network)

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Top Tasks (Specific duties and responsibilities of this job.)

Examine patients to obtain information about their physical condition.

Interpret diagnostic test results for deviations from normal.

Obtain, compile and record patient medical data, including health history, progress notes and results of physical examination.

Make tentative diagnoses and decisions about management and treatment of patients.

Prescribe therapy or medication with physician approval.

Administer or order diagnostic tests, such as x-ray, electrocardiogram, and laboratory tests.

Instruct and counsel patients about prescribed therapeutic regimens, normal growth and development, family planning, emotional problems of daily living, and health maintenance.

Perform therapeutic procedures, such as injections, immunizations, suturing and wound care, and infection management.

Provide physicians with assistance during surgery or complicated medical procedures.

Visit and observe patients on hospital rounds or house calls, updating charts, ordering therapy, and reporting back to physician.

More Tasks for Physician Assistants

Top Skills used in this Job

Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others` reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Science - Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.

Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.

Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.

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Top Abilities (Attributes of the person that influence performance in this job.)

Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.

Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

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Top Work Values (Aspects of this job that create satisfaction.)

Relationships - Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.

Working Conditions - Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions.

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Top Interests (The types of activities someone in this job would like.)

Investigative - Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

Social - Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

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Alternate Titles

Physician's Assistants; Physician Assistant Certified Assistants