What Kind of Physician Assistant Should I Be

One press picks a PA specialty to look into, with what the work covers.

What Kind of Physician Assistant Should I Be

Show all 38
  1. Dermatology PAWorks with conditions of the skin, medical and surgical. Nearly all are in office practice.

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How it works

In PA school, or weighing it? Press the button for a specialty physician assistants work in, from family medicine to orthopaedic surgery, each with what the work covers and, where the numbers show it, the setting.

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Twelve fields carry an added qualification

NCCPA, the body that certifies PAs, offers a Certificate of Added Qualifications in cardiovascular and thoracic surgery, dermatology, emergency medicine, geriatric medicine, hospital medicine, nephrology, obstetrics and gynecology, occupational medicine, orthopaedic surgery, palliative medicine and hospice care, pediatrics and psychiatry. It is voluntary and asks for experience in the field, so it follows the job.

Where PAs work, by the numbers

In NCCPA’s report for 2024, family medicine and general practice held 21,859 PAs, 16.3 percent of those who named a specialty. Orthopaedic surgery held 14,200 and emergency medicine 14,129. About 95 percent of PAs in critical care and in hospital medicine work in a hospital; 91 percent in dermatology work in an office practice.

  • PA programs include supervised clinical training in several specialties, so use each rotation to test a field.

Questions and answers

What type of PA should I be?

Start with the setting you want: an office with patients you see for years, a hospital ward, an emergency department or an operating room. Then pick the patients, such as children, older adults or one body system, and ask for a rotation there.

What kind of PA should I be if I like surgery?

A surgical one. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says a PA in surgery may close incisions and give care before, during and after an operation. Orthopaedic surgery is the largest surgical field, then general, cardiothoracic and neurological surgery.

What specialties can a physician assistant work in?

NCCPA says PAs practice in over 70 specialty and subspecialty disciplines. This list holds 38 of them, from primary care to surgery, hospital care, single body systems and care for children.

Can a PA change specialty?

Yes, and many do. In NCCPA’s 2024 report, 60.6 percent of PAs in orthopaedic surgery had never changed specialty, but only 18.6 percent of those in occupational medicine and 29.3 percent in pain medicine.

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All 38 specialties

Primary care and clinics 12

  • Addiction medicine PA Works in the treatment and recovery of people with addiction.
  • Adolescent medicine PA Cares for patients in the years from puberty to adulthood.
  • Dermatology PA Works with conditions of the skin, medical and surgical. Nearly all are in office practice.
  • Family medicine PA Sees patients of all ages for everyday care, often for years. The largest PA field.
  • Geriatric medicine PA Works on the health needs of older adults: preventing, diagnosing and treating illness.
  • Internal medicine PA Works on preventing, diagnosing and treating illness in adults, most often in an office practice.
  • Obstetrics and gynecology PA Works in care through pregnancy and birth and in women’s health.
  • Occupational medicine PA Works on preventing and treating illness and injury that come from work.
  • Pain medicine PA Works on the relief of pain, from short-lived to long-lasting, mostly in office practice.
  • Pediatrics PA Examines infants, children and teenagers and gives routine vaccinations, mostly in office practice.
  • Physical medicine and rehabilitation PA Helps people with physical impairments or disabilities regain function and quality of life.
  • Psychiatry PA Works in diagnosing and treating mental conditions, in offices and mental health facilities.

Hospital and emergency 9

  • Critical care PA Cares for seriously ill patients in intensive care. Nearly all of these PAs work in hospitals.
  • Emergency medicine PA Cares for illness and injury that need attention at once, mostly in hospital emergency departments.
  • Hospital medicine PA Cares for acutely ill patients for as long as they are in hospital.
  • Infectious disease PA Works in the diagnosis and treatment of infections.
  • Interventional radiology PA Works on procedures done through very small incisions, guided by medical imaging.
  • Neonatal-perinatal PA Cares for newborn infants, especially those born early or in need of critical care.
  • Oncology PA Works in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, most often in a hospital.
  • Palliative medicine and hospice care PA Works on quality of life and the relief of suffering for people with a serious illness.
  • Pediatric emergency medicine PA Cares for children with a sudden illness or injury that needs attention at once.

Surgery 9

  • Cardiovascular and thoracic surgery PA Works in surgery on the heart, lungs and other organs of the chest, mostly in hospitals.
  • General surgery PA Works in surgery on the abdomen and its organs, with care before, during and after the operation.
  • Neurosurgery PA Works in the surgical care of the brain, spinal cord and nerves.
  • Orthopaedic surgery PA Works with bones, joints and muscles, with and without surgery. The largest surgical PA field.
  • Otolaryngology PA Works with conditions of the ear, nose and throat, head and neck, mostly in office practice.
  • Pediatric surgery PA Works in surgery on infants, children and teenagers.
  • Plastic surgery PA Works in surgery that restores, reconstructs or alters the body.
  • Urology PA Works with medical and surgical conditions of the kidneys, bladder and urinary system.
  • Vascular surgery PA Works with diseases of the arteries, veins and lymphatic vessels.

One body system 8

  • Cardiology PA Works with disorders of the heart and blood vessels, most often in a hospital.
  • Endocrinology PA Works with the endocrine system and its hormones.
  • Gastroenterology PA Works with the digestive system and its disorders.
  • Hematology PA Works with diseases of the blood.
  • Nephrology PA Works with kidney function and kidney disease.
  • Neurology PA Works in diagnosing and treating conditions of the brain, spinal cord and nerves.
  • Pulmonology PA Works with diseases of the lungs and airways.
  • Rheumatology PA Works with disorders marked by inflammation in the bones, muscles and joints.