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You are here: Home / Pre-Physician Assistant / What Can a Physician Assistant Specialize in?

What Can a Physician Assistant Specialize in?

May 16, 2021 By Fiona D'Agostino PA-C & Stephen Pasquini PA-C 1 Comment

What a Physician Assistant Specialize in The PA Life Blog

One of the attractions of being a physician assistant is that you can change specialties throughout your career.

There is no time limit to how long you need to be in any one specialty. You also do not need to switch among specialties if you don’t want to.

PAs are adaptive, learn quickly, and we learn on the job.

So, what are all the different specialties available to a physician assistant?

FACT: 6-7% percent of PAs are changing specialties each year
According to AAPA's annual Salary Report. Because PAs receive general medical and surgical education and are required to recertify regularly, they can often change specialties without needing any new certification.

The Outpatient Medicine PA

What Can a Physician Assistant Specialize in Outpatient Medicine

The PA role was created to support primary care: Internal medicine and family medicine.

These are outpatient positions (sometimes can include inpatient as well). However, there are many outpatient physician assistant specialties like endocrinology, nephrology, dermatology, cardiology, neurology, OBGYN, psychiatry, pain management, and pediatrics.

Some outpatient PA specialties can get even more specific.

For example, orthopedics can be general, or it can only focus on a specific part of the body: such as the knees, shoulders, or spine. Oncology can also be general (heme/onc) or be as specific as gynecology oncology, or even more specific such as gastroenterology cancers.

Some other outpatient physician assistant roles that may not be as common can include addiction medicine, aesthetic dermatology, and occupational medicine.

Occupational medicine allows large employers to perform annual exams, cardiac stress testing and treating work-related injuries. Addiction medicine PAs can work in recovery centers or physician offices, assisting with patient assessments, testing, and designing treatment plans.

Another new and up-and-coming specialty popular among PAs is telemedicine! This, of course, is working virtually on video with your patients to diagnose and treat them and can be in a lot of different specialties, including psychiatry and primary care.

The Inpatient Medicine PA

What a Physician Assistant Specialize in Inpatient Medicine Specialty

Now, all the outpatient general and specialty medicine options available to PAs also have inpatient alternatives.

You can be a general hospitalist (the primary care of the hospital when a patient is admitted). There is also inpatient GI, neurology, dermatology, etc.

Many of these can overlap with outpatient positions, but some are inpatient-specific. Also, PAs can work in critical care units providing  care for extremely sick patients in the ICU. PAs working in this specialty focus and engage in the comprehensive care of patients in the ICU.

PAs can work in the neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), which provide care for newborn infants, or pediatric intensive care units (PICUs), which provide care for children.

PAs can work in coronary care and cardiothoracic units (CCUs/CTUs) which provide care for heart attack or heart surgery patients, surgical intensive care units (SICUs), and medical intensive care units (MICUs).

There are many types of units that provide specialty care (such as burn, oncology wards, trauma ICUs, and neurologic ICUs).

The PA "In-Between"

What a Physician Assistant Specialize in Emergency Medicine Specialty

The "in-between" of inpatient and outpatient is urgent care and emergency medicine.

Urgent care is becoming an extremely popular PA specialty. The urgent care and emergency room both involve a patient presenting for an unscheduled (or urgent) visit, and you are helping to diagnose and make the decision "can this patient be treated outpatient, or do you need to send them and admit them into the hospital?"

The in-between can also include palliative care or at-home care, where you are traveling to a patient’s home or to a nursing home to provide end-of-life care or care for patients who cannot leave their homes.

The Surgical PA

What a Physician Assistant Specialize in Surgery

Surgical subspecialties are an immensely popular area for PAs.

PAs who specialize in general surgery manage patients with a broad spectrum of diseases. They work under surgeons and provide preoperative and postoperative care, order and interpret diagnostic tests and assist in a variety of surgical procedures.

Some surgical subspecialties for PAs include cardiology, neurology, orthopedics, plastics, vascular surgery, transplant surgery, and trauma surgery.

PAs can also work in interventional radiology (performing various minimally invasive procedures using medical imaging guidance).

There are a lot of ways to break down the various kinds of PA specialties. You can do it by body part - basically, every body part or body system is a specialty.

Here is a breakdown of all the different opportunities PAs have:

The list below includes fifty-four general, specialty, and subspecialty options available to physician assistants.

No medical specialty

  • No medical specialty

Primary care

  • Family medicine
  • Internal medicine (general)
  • Pediatrics (general)

Internal medicine subspecialties

  • Cardiology
  • Critical care
  • Endocrinology
  • Gastroenterology
  • Hematology & oncology
  • Infectious disease
  • Nephrology
  • Neurology
  • Pulmonology
  • Rheumatology

Emergency medicine

  • Emergency medicine

Pediatric subspecialties

  • Pediatric subspecialties (other)

Surgical subspecialties

  • Cardiovascular/cardiothoracic surgery
  • Bariatric surgery
  • Colon & rectal surgery
  • General surgery
  • Neurosurgery
  • Oncology surgery
  • Orthopedic surgery
  • Otolaryngology
  • Pediatric surgery
  • Plastic surgery
  • Surgical subspecialties (other)
  • Thoracic surgery
  • Transplant surgery
  • Trauma surgery
  • Urology
  • Vascular surgery

Other specialties

  • Addiction medicine
  • Allergy & immunology
  • Anesthesiology
  • Dermatology
  • Genetics
  • Geriatrics
  • Hospice & palliative care
  • Hospital medicine
  • Nuclear medicine
  • Obstetrics & Gynecology
  • Occupational medicine
  • Ophthalmology
  • Pain management
  • Pathology
  • Physical medicine & rehab
  • Preventive medicine
  • Psychiatry
  • Public health
  • Radiation oncology
  • Radiology
  • Urgent care
  • Other

What Can a Physician Assistant Specialize in? Answer: Almost Everything!

Overall, PAs can work in hospitals, private offices, correctional facilities, military settings, international humanitarian missions, university hospitals, telemedicine, retail health clinics, research, and the list goes on!

The opportunities are endless for physician assistants, which is why this field is so exciting!

Additional reading: 

Physician Assistant Postgraduate Residency and Fellowship Programs: The Ultimate Guide

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About Fiona D'Agostino PA-C & Stephen Pasquini PA-C

Fiona D'Agostino is an internal medicine physician assistant. She graduated from the University of Michigan with a BS in Kinesiology and completed her master's degree in physician assistant studies in 2017 from Rosalind Franklin University of medicine and science. She has been working in primary care for the past 3 years and has worked in underserved areas and urban populations. Fiona has spent time in undergrad and graduate school mentoring pre-PA and current PA students through their journey. She is passionate about educating and helping others in the Pre PA journey! Read more articles by Fiona.

Stephen Pasquini PA-C has been a PA since 2004 and is the creator of The PA Life and Smarty PANCE Board Review websites. A National Health Service Corps Scholar and a graduate of The University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ (Rutgers) PA Program and the University of Washington in Seattle, WA. Stephen's goal is to provide one-of-a-kind online resources for those interested in or practicing in the PA profession, to promote better access to healthcare for all and foster universal recognition/awareness of the PA profession. Read more about Stephen.

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    February 1, 2023 at 11:43 am

    Thanks very helpful.

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I just wanted to let you know that the majority of my interviews have gone really well! So far, I’ve received six interview invites and have interviewed for five schools. Midwestern (AZ) just got back to me a bit ago, and they sent me an acceptance email! I am beyond thrilled! I just wanted to thank you so much for your help! Your mock interview gave me a lot of confidence that I was able to carry into my interviews! I appreciated having the opportunity to practice my interview skills with you. I wanted to let you know just how much you’ve helped me with my application process (with my interviews, personal statement, and just my confidence in general)! Thank you so much for all of the advice over the past few months!

Sneh, PA-S

I absolutely loved working with Sarah! I could not be any happier with how my personal statement turned out. She was incredibly encouraging, sensitive to my needs, and insightful. There is not enough praise that I could give her for the amazing work she did for me.

Vanessa, Pre-PA

You helped me revise my personal statement for PA school admissions earlier this year, and I wanted to let you know how much you helped me. I got eight interviews and five admissions this cycle! I’ll be attending Pacific University this May. Multiple interviewers commented on how much they liked my personal statement. They described it as “eloquent” and “genuine.” I cannot thank you enough for your help earlier this year; I feel that it was a big part of my success this cycle.

Monica Harris, PA-S

I just want to let you know I received multiple interview invitations and got my first acceptance a few weeks ago! I am still preparing for more interviews, but at this point, I am pretty certain I will be going to Midwestern University, and I think so much of my success with applications is because of your help with my personal statement. Because of this, I wanted to reach out and say THANK YOU! I really appreciate your support and I would definitely recommend this service to anyone applying to PA school 🙂

Alli Cowan, Pre-PA

I had an overall great experience working with Duke. He was open to my suggestions and provided great feedback on my essay. So far I haven’t gotten any interviews yet, but it is still early in the process. I will keep you updated when I get interviews. Steve

Steve Koehler, PA-S

About a year ago you helped edit my personal statement to get into PA school! I just wanted to let you know that I got interviews and was accepted to all the schools I applied to! I have decided to attend UAB in the fall! Thank you again for all your help!

Lauren Smith, PA-S

I am very pleased with the services provided! I received an email almost immediately upon submitting my essay for review, and within 24 hours my essay review was completed. I would definitely recommend this service to any PA school applicant before they submit their essay to CASPA! Thank you for your help!

Hannah Watson, Pre-PA

I owe you a lot! Thank you so much for helping me in this important process. God bless you.

Catalina, Pre-PA

Sue did a wonderful job. I know this is an extremely busy time of year as CASPA is accepting applications and Sue was great about responding to my initial submission and getting back to me. She provided thoughtful feedback and quality editing. Fingers crossed for an acceptance to PA school!

Jo Lynn, Pre-PA

Really helpful! Makes me feel confident.

Qui T. Pre-PA

Sarah was fantastic to work with. She is excellent at her crafted skill and can help any thought or sentence come to life, fast!

Jessica D. PRE-PA

I really felt the person who edited my essay, Sue Edmondson, took the time to get to know me as a person because she wanted my essay to reflect exactly who I am. I couldn’t have been more impressed with the edits and revisions she has given me along with the reasoning behind each revision.

Nicala, Pre-PA

I wanted to update you and say I’ve been accepted into two programs (waiting for two more responses) with Jefferson University (my program of choice) being one of them. Thank you for all your help and your tips and for making this a genuinely joyful 2022!

Yejin (Future PA)

I was so happy with the consultation and personal statement editing support I received from your team! I got into my first choice program at Duke, and I’m so excited to be starting in August.

Ellie, PA-S

Sue was very quick to edit my essay and give feedback. Any questions were answered very promptly. I am very pleased with the service provided.

Brandon, Pre-PA

I loved this service! Not only did my editor transform my essay, she helped me feel more confident in my application moving forward. She was extremely personable and efficient. I love my essay and now I’m even more excited about applying for school because of the help I received from The PA Life! Highly recommend!!

Aubrey, Pre-PA

I absolutely loved working with Sarah! She provided the best feedback to my personal statement, while also being sensitive to the details regarding personal family trauma. At the end of our sessions, I always felt confident in the statement and knew that Sarah would help me best articulate into words what I wanted to say. My statement now is something I can be completely confident in, and know that Sarah has been able to help me achieve a statement that prospective schools will pay attention to. Thank you, Sarah (and The PA Life) for everything!

Elizabeth, Pre-PA

Beth did great at editing my personal statement. I feel that she corrected a lot of my grammar and made my personal statement very well-spoken while not changing what I wanted to convey. She gave me additional thoughts to consider if I wanted to edit the essay again afterward, but I feel quite content! Thank you, PA Life!

Audrey, Pre-PA

Carly blew away all my expectations. She not only suggested edits to refine the content, but she also made grammatical and structural changes that fine-tuned my essay and allowed it to flow. I came into the editing process feeling hopeless about my personal statement, but with her edits, I feel confident that it will stand out. On top of all that, Carly was very timely in editing and returning my essay – I got it back within a few days! I’m very pleased with her service and recommend it to anyone out there who needs a fresh, professional set of eyes on their personal statement.

Stephanie, Pre-PA

This experience was great. They took my essay and gave great constructive comments that made it an even better essay. Very fast and efficient process.

Gabby, Pre-PA

Kelly M. provided an exceptional experience with detailed recommendations. I am upset that I did not find The PA Life editing service sooner! I will be referring anyone I know applying to pa school to this platform!

Manny, Pre-PA

Sue did a wonderful job. I know this is an extremely busy time of year as CASPA is accepting applications and Sue was great about responding to my initial submission and getting back to me. She provided thoughtful feedback and quality editing. Fingers crossed for an acceptance to PA school!

Jo Lynn, Pre-PA

I am so pleased with the review Carly provided me. Her responses were thoughtful and edits helped me in a lot of places where I felt totally stuck. So excited to be so close to a final draft with my personal statement. Thank you! TBD on the interview (fingers crossed)

Georgia Flynn, Pre-PA

Sue Edmondson was instrumental to my understanding of the entrance essay I was trying to write as well as very honest and positive. I loved her writing technique and her instructive points were very easy to understand. Most definitely will recommend as well as keep her in my contacts for possible future essay revision/help. Thank you.

Vladimira, Pre-PA

Carly Hallman did an amazing job helping me with my personal statement! I was feeling conflicted and uncertain about my own personal statement, but she helped set my mind at ease! I now have peace of mind regarding my personal statement. She was so helpful in correcting any grammar errors and also informed me of what I could add to my essay. I knew I was missing something in my essay, but could not quite put my finger on it. Carly identified what was missing so I could make those changes to my essay. I’m so thankful for her help because I do not think I could have figured out that “missing piece” had it not been for her. I now feel confident about my essay and I am extremely happy with it! 🙂 Thank you so much!!!

Ramsha, Pre-PA

I received an early acceptance! I just wanted to thank you so much for all your help. You are a pro and I’m so thankful for you! You helped me more than you’ll ever know! I’m so excited! You saved me!!!!

Shelly K. Pre-PA

Oh my gosh thank you SOO much!!! I have been so busy with school so I haven’t been able to edit my personal statement, but I want to thank you soo much for making my statement look a heck of a lot better!!! I will be editing it over my spring break since that is the only free time I have, and I most likely will do a re-edit if I can (its $35 ish right?). Anyways thank you so much again!! Sorry for the late reply but I will get back to you again during my spring break if I need a second edit, thank you so much again for all your help!! I can already see how much of a difference you’ve made! Totally worth my money!

Melat Ashagre, Pre-PA

My editor with The PA Life was a grammar goddess! She provided amazing feedback and was quick with responding back to any emails, questions, and concerns!

Saniha, Pre-PA

Sue did an amazing job editing my personal statement. She included all the aspects that I wanted in the statement and made it flow so much better. Thank You! Thank You!

Kendra Perkey, Pre-PA

I really appreciated Carly’s attentiveness to my writing style and working to keep my message and content but working it in a way that reads easier. I appreciate her turnaround time, as well as priority deadlines for programs, are quickly approaching!

Jacob, Pre-PA

I just wanted to share some amazing news with you! I have been accepted into the MEDEX PA program in Seattle!!! I can’t thank you enough for all your help!! I am beyond excited and still can’t believe it is actually happening! Thank you again from the bottom of my heart!!!!! 😀

Pavitra, PA-S

Deanna gave me excellent feedback on my personal statement, and I couldn’t be more grateful. She was very articulate and gave examples for me to work with on the rewrite. What I struggled with most was the organization of my writing, and Deanna helped me structure my paper so that it was easy to read. I would 100% recommend this service to a friend applying to PA school. Thank you so much!

Daniela, Pre-PA

I had an excellent experience with this service. Deanna was thorough, attentive to my essay, and very easy to contact. She did a great job and I would highly recommend this service to anyone.

Grant, Pre-PA

I just wanted to let you know I got accepted to Yale!!!! I’m so pumped. I can’t wait to talk more in-depth with you about my experience. For now I just wanted to say thank you!!!! You really were SO helpful.

James Hennessy, PA-S

Thank you so much for your assistance with perfecting my personal statement. This service is truly helpful. They were able to easily edit and help to convey exactly what was in my heart onto paper. I was accepted to my first choice PA program this week!!

Vincent, PA-S

I LOVED the suggestions Carly made for my essay. Not only was she thorough with her edits, but she also provided a lot of quality feedback that really made my essay shine. Carly took my unedited, messy essay and helped me better convey what I was trying to say. I have nothing but positive things to say about this experience and feel this service was worth every penny.

Rachel, Pre-PA

I am not sure if you remembered me, but you helped me exactly a year ago with my PA essay. Well, I got accepted into Barry’s PA program! I start this Monday. You were part of my journey and I wanted to say THANK YOU!

Catalina Bulla, PA-S

I wanted to share exciting news with you – I got accepted to UT Health San Antonio’s Physician Assistant program!!! I am so thankful for ALL of your work and talent that was put into my personal statement and supplemental essays. I could not have gotten through this process without you. I extend a thank you from my mother, Tammy, as well. We were so blessed to be paired with you. Your hard work and dedication to helping me as a Pre-PA student-led to success during the application process. I hope 2021 is treating you well and you have a blessed year!

Aubrey, PA-S

Your services have eased the stress and anxiety that results from guessing whether or not your essay contains the content that many PA programs are looking for. Your services were prompt and genuine. It is clear that you have the applicant’s success at heart. Thank you!

Madison Pre-PA

I am so thankful that this editing service exists. The personal statement is incredibly important which is why I was so nervous about it. It took me two weeks to even get started because I was so nervous about writing the wrong thing. After Carly helped me with my essay, I am now so much more confident in it. Her edits were very thorough and showed that she had a really good understanding of what is important for a PA personal statement. Her email detailing her overall impression of my essay also showed she understood every single point I was trying to make and what kind of feeling I was trying to give to people reading my essay. This has been the most reassuring thing.

Angela, Pre-PA

I just wanted to update you that I got waitlisted for Drexel but accept to Dominican University of California. I still have other interviews coming up. Thank you for your help!

Karmen Wu, Pre-PA

Sue Edmonson has been a great help in ensuring my personal statement made sense and fit what information I was trying to convey. Her ability to find the pertinent parts in an essay and gain more information about me to make the essay seem relative to my pursuits was truly a Godsend. Would recommend her and your company to others. Thanks!

Christopher Ohsie, Pre-PA

Duke went above and beyond to help me. I so appreciate his help and would recommend this service to anyone!

Jessica H. Pre-PA

This is Tyler. I hope you remember helping me with my essay back in May. As promised, I wanted to update you with news of my PA school journey and I am excited to tell you that I was accepted to Stony Brook’s PA program!! THANK YOU VERY MUCH for helping me write an essay that was truly reflective of who I am as a candidate and as a person! It played a pivotal role in this whole nerve-racking process and has helped me achieve a major life goal. You are a godsend to Pre-PA students.

Tyler, PA-S

Thank you so much for editing my essay and for your kind words. Your edits have definitely made it a stronger PS and I am proud to have it as a part of my application. Thank you for alleviating my stress on arguably the most nerve-wracking part of the CASPA app. You are incredibly talented and well-spoken, and any person that has you edit their essays is incredibly lucky! I will let you know if I have any questions, but I think each one of your edits are meaningful and super clear. I appreciate you shortening it and making it flow better. Thank you again!!!

Karina Kapani, Pre-PA

Carly was so helpful and encouraging! I truly felt like I was in good hands, and I know my personal statement is much stronger now because of her!

Chloe, Pre-PA

I wanted to give you an update and thank you. I just received my first acceptance and at the interview, they commented on how well written my personal statement was. I appreciate your hard work and working with me to create such an awesome piece! Hopefully, this won’t be the last time we talk- maybe our paths will cross again one day!

Janne Kim, Pre-PA

I wanted to reach out and thank you for your help in editing my personal statement this application cycle. I have been accepted to the University of Utah and I was lucky enough to get a number of interviews! I know that your help with my statement definitely made a difference and I am so thankful! Thank you so much!

Nicole, Pre-PA

The edit that I received from Sue was exactly what I was hoping for. She was able to tighten up my draft beyond my personal skill level and made edits that I was would have never thought to make. She has definitely made my personal statement stronger. Thank you, Sue!

Ethan, Pre-PA

This was a very quick service and the attention to detail and response time was amazing. I thank you for having a service like this and am so happy I decided to go with the PA Life!!

Rachel, Pre-PA

Sue Edmondson was VERY thorough in her editing of my essay, as well as the promptness of her responses to me. She not only took the time to edit the grammar of my essay but helped me remove a large portion of it to focus on the important aspects of it and draw in more details. Overall, a fantastic service!

Megan Hunstad, Pre-PA

I wanted to reach out and thank you for your help with my personal statement. I received compliments about my essay at every interview I had. I also wanted to let you know that I will be attending Duke’s PA Program – my top choice. Your help was amazing! Thank you so much again!

Kelli Tseng, PA-S

This review is long overdue, but my gratitude for how much The PA Life has helped me will never fade. Ms. Schultz went above and beyond to help me tailor my personal statement to my unique stories and qualities. She was open to my suggestions and often thought from my perspective instead of imposing her thoughts on my essay. I appreciate the time she took to help me create a personal statement that expressed my thoughts clearly and concisely. I am happy to report that I have been invited to interviews, and I’m on the waitlist for one of my top schools. If I don’t get in this cycle, I will be using the editing services again. Big shout out to Ms. Schultz!! Thank you for all your encouragement, patience, and support! I am honored to have the chance to work with you. 🙂

Amy, Pre-PA

I used the personal statement editing service with Deanna Matzen (April/May 2021) and the mock interview service with Mary Jones (June 2021). Both were exceptional to work with and helped me to achieve my goal. I applied to three schools and received interview invites from all three (I’m a first-time applicant). I was waitlisted at one in June and later accepted in November, received early acceptance to my top choice in November (UTSW), and I chose to decline my third interview scheduled in December. Thank you for your services!

Rachelle, Pre-PA

Awesome editing service! Everything was detailed, and I could tell that my editor really cared about helping me produce a great personal statement.

Ashanna, Pre-PA

This was the most amazing experience! I felt so confident about my topic and essay after our meeting. Duke got back to me quickly and worked around my crazy schedule. The editing of the essay was professional and gave me insight I could not have received any other way. I only applied to one school because it is really the one I would like to go to the most and I got an interview!!! Thank you so much for all of your help!

Kathryn R, PA-S

I have never used an editing service before, but after working with The PA Life, I am so glad I did. I feel my essay flows better and is polished and precise. I am now signed up for supplemental essay editing as well.

Nicole, Pre-PA

Very helpful. I needed help figuring out what to cut and Sue was great at showing me what could go without sacrificing what I was trying to convey.

Dave, Pre-PA

I just wanted to reach out an let you that I actually got into PA school this year! Out of the 10 programs I applied to, 4 offered me interviews. The first interview wound up being my top choice and they offered me a spot. I accept and declined all my other interviews. So I am absolutely overjoyed!! I wanted to let you know though. Your editing and help, no doubt, helped me get through the initial phase. Thank you so much! I am truly grateful.

Deanna, Pre-PA

Very prompt response and turnaround time. While I did not speak with Duke over the phone, his team’s edits were thorough, clear and very helpful. Highly recommended.

Dave H. Pre-PA

101 PA School Admission Essays

Admissions Directors Know What They Want. Shouldn't You? You’re slaving away at your personal statement, but can’t help wondering if anyone will read past the first line. A troubling thought, isn’t…

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How to Write Your Physician Assistant Personal Statement

What Makes This Book Unique? We have worked with 1000’s of applicants through our Personal Statement and Essay Collaborative and have interviewed PA school faculty and Admissions Directors from 12…

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