How to Write 'Physician Assistant' The PA Grammar Guide

Do you know the correct answer to these important questions?

Do you capitalize the word physician assistant?
How do you write the plural of physician assistant?
What is the proper name of the PA profession?

All these questions are real — We know because we see the mistakes in capitalization, grammar, and worse, the name of the profession just about every day as essays roll in.

If you want to get it right, read on!

How to Correctly Write Physician Assistant

1. Do you capitalize the word physician assistant?

The general rule is no; physician assistant is not capitalized.

If you doubt my word, check (other:-D ) reliable sources — medical dictionaries for one, like the U.S. Library of Medicine.

Many medical schools, PA studies programs and universities have writing guides with the correct way to spell or cite various professions. They’re usually on the school’s website.

Of course, there are exceptions.

The main one relates to formal titles. Anytime you’re citing a specific program name or degree title, you’ll capitalize the words. For example, it’s “Rutgers University Physician Assistant Program,” and “Master of Physician Assistant Studies.”

It’s also possible that a specific school will have a different opinion about the subject. Always check the school website to see if physician assistant is capitalized and if so, in what context. Follow the school’s lead!

Examples of correct usage:

“I will be the best physician assistant the world has ever seen.”
“In order to be the best physician assistant the world has ever seen I need to complete the Brown School of Physician Assistant Studies.”

Examples of incorrect usage:

“I will never get into Physician Assistant school because I don’t know the rules.”
“My interest in becoming a Physician Assistant started when my parents said they wouldn’t pay for medical school.”

"There is one mistake that pretty much guarantees your application will go out with the recycle. That’s getting the name of the profession wrong."

By the way, most professions are not capitalized. That includes physician, doctor, nurse, nurse practitioner and dietitian to name a few. Look it up before you use it.

A mistake in capitalization doesn’t mean your application will necessarily land in the reject pile. However, there is one mistake that pretty much guarantees your application will go out with the recycle.

That’s getting the name of the profession wrong.

2. It is not physician’s assistant. Ever!

When I interviewed Admissions Directors and faculty across the country about writing these essays for our book, “How To Write Your Physician Assistant Personal Statement,” all said getting the name of the profession wrong is a big red flag. It tells them that people likely just looked at a website to learn about the profession and have no clue what it’s really about.

Examples of correct usage: We repeat, there is never a time when you will write physician’s assistant.

Examples of incorrect usage:

“I want to be a physician’s assistant because it sounded like fun when I read about it on the Internet.”
“I want to be a Physician’s Assistant because it sounded like fun when I read about it on the Internet.”

3. The possessive and the plural of PA

Just to be clear, the possessive of physician assistant is physician assistant’s or if using the acronym, PA’s. The plural is physician assistants or if using the acronym, PAs.

Examples of correct usage:

“The physician assistant’s demeanor was warm and welcoming.” (possessive)
“The PA’s demeanor was warm and welcoming.” (possessive)
“The physician assistants I shadowed were warm and welcoming.” (plural)
“The PAs I shadowed were warm and welcoming.” (plural)

Examples of incorrect usage:

“The physician assistants demeanor was warm and welcoming.”
“The PAs demeanor was warm and welcoming.”
“The physician assistant’s I shadowed were warm and welcoming.”
“The PA’s I shadowed were warm and welcoming.”

We’ve spelled it out for you. Now it’s up to you to spell it right!

You can download a FREE PDF version of this guide: How to Write Physician Assistant the Definitive Guide

A note from Stephen:

To show you just how important this is, here is a personal email I received from Janette Rodriguez, editorial director at The American Academy of Physician Assistants. She knows a thing or two about writing the word physician assistant and here is what she had to say about my poor PA prose:

From: Janette Rodrigues
Subject: Apostrophes

Message Body:

Stephen,

We haven’t talked for a while but you know I’m a fan. You are one of the best PA bloggers out there, and you’ve created something amazing with The PA Life. But you’re killing me with the creative grammar.

The plural of PA is PAs, not PA’s.

Take care,

Janette at AAPA

See, none of us are immune to looking like an idiot 😉

So please, don’t repeat my mistake, spell the name of our profession right.

Not only will your essay or blog post avoid the trash compactor, but you may also find yourself outsmarting many well-intentioned pre-PAs or PAs like myself who didn’t know any better!

Are you looking for some more inspiration?

Take a look at these 31 sample PA school personal statements shared through members of our community. Use it as a guide to see what works and possibly what doesn't as you sit down to write your 5,000 character CASPA essay.