Physician Assistants
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Patient exams, histories, and progress notes come first; then lab work, x-rays, and other tests are read for anything outside the normal range. Diagnoses and treatment plans are made tentatively and carried out under a physician: prescribing therapy or medication with approval, giving injections and immunizations, suturing wounds, and managing infection. Counseling covers how to follow a regimen, growth and development, family planning, and everyday health maintenance. Better suited to those who want hands-on clinical work, careful reading of test results, and explaining next steps to patients in plain language.
Typical education: Master’s Degree
Annual Median Wage in Field (2025)
$135'880
Median Wage Market Position
$135'880
What you might do
- Examine patients to judge their physical condition
- Interpret x-rays, heart tests, and lab results
- Decide on a working diagnosis and treatment
- Prescribe medicine or therapy with physician approval
- Record health history, exam notes, and test results
- Stitch wounds, give shots, and treat infections
Skills that matter
- Interpreting diagnostic test results
- Tentative diagnoses and treatment decisions
- Recording health histories and exam findings
- Counseling on prescribed therapeutic regimens
- Physical exams to assess condition
- Injections, immunizations, suturing, and wound care
AI & the future of this role
Patient exams, counseling, and supervised clinical judgment still require licensed, in-person care. Charting and decision-support tools may absorb more paperwork, so some tasks could shift even as core practice holds up.
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Includes O*NET® 30.3 Database information by USDOL/ETA under CC BY 4.0; modified by LostInCareer. Wage/outlook from BLS. Attribution details