Surgical PA Salaries

Question: The physician assistant (PA) in my surgical practice wants a raise. What should she expect to get paid?

Answer: Salary benchmarks for surgical physician assistants vary by geographical area (based on demand and cost of living) and experience. It may help to consider several data sources to get a fair sense. Here are some:

• The Medical Group Management Association - Surgical PAs with one to two years of experience, $62,025; with three to seven years of experience, $75,000.
• The American Medical Group Association - Surgical PAs, $83,184.
• Health Care Job Store - This organization does not distinguish surgical PAs from others, but says the median salary for all PAs is $68,826, with an average bonus of 3 percent.
• American Academy of Physician Assistants - This group also lumps surgical and nonsurgical salaries. Its median for all PAs is $78,257.