PA Program Residency
Postgraduate PA Residency Programs: General intro
Physician assistants (PAs) are trained as medical generalists and are able to work in any type of specialty. PAs attend PA programs that are typically 24 to 36 months in duration. Once PA students are concluded with their PA program education, they may seek out further, more focused experience through a PA residency program. Although not required for any specialty, PA residency programs allow recent PA school graduates to expand on their knowledge of a specific field, learn more advanced clinical skills and gain valuable experience.
WHY ATTEND A RESIDENCY PROGRAM
The advantages of attending a PA residency program include receiving guided education in a specific specialty of your choosing. PA school clinical rotations are only a few weeks long and only provide a brief introduction to the specialty. Attending residency programs allow students to improve their ability to care for patients, develop judgement and technical abilities in the specific specialty, and accelerate their post-grad learning experience. PA residencies are opportunities for graduate PAs to obtain advanced training in a specialty of their interest. The confidence that can come with the attending a residency may take others years to attain! Also, the small class size provides a more intimate educational setting to receive tailored instruction. Class sizes range between just 1 student to up to around 16 students. This is much less than a typical PA school cohort and will give you more opportunities to allow your personal and professional growth in the specialty. In addition, PAs may be able to negotiate a higher starting salary once they complete residency due to the extra training and experience!
THE CONS OF PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT RESIDENCY PROGRAMS
The cons of attending a PA residency program are the lower salary compared to the median PA salary. PAs participating in a residency program earn compensation from $50,000-$75,000 depending on the program. While this is better than having no income during PA school, it is well below the national PA salary average. The national PA salary average in 2020 was $112,260. Gaining this extra experience over the year long residency program may allow you to negotiate a higher starting salary at a potential PA position after completing the residency. However, eventually the salary for a PA in a specific specialty will max out and be equivalent to a colleague who has similar experience but did not attend a PA residency program. You must also keep in mind that residencies may require well over 40 hours a week of clinic time. In true residency fashion, many programs may have you both in a learning setting and a clinic setting for a combined maximum of 80 hours per week!
HOW LONG IS RESIDENCY FOR A PA AND WHAT IS THE SCHEDULE LIKE?
Most PA residencies have a duration of 12 months, but some may require a 24-month commitment. PA residency programs often have PAs rotate through different areas of the specialty they are pursing to gain a broad understanding of the field. These rotations may last a few weeks and the schedule differs based on clinical setting. For example, a PA residency in cardiology may consist of multiple orthopedic-oriented rotation varying between in-patient and out-patient and from adults to pediatrics. This allows the PA resident to receive a great amount of exposure in the various settings within the specialty!
APPLYING TO PA RESIDENCY PROGRAMS
Applying to the majority of PA residency programs requires the following:
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Graduation from an ARC-PA accredited PA program prior to matriculation into the residency program
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Pass the Physician Assistant National Certification Exam (PANCE)
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Submit education transcripts
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BLS/ACLS certification
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Completed application with current resume
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Personal statement
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Professional recommendation letters
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State PA license for the state the program is located in
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Interview at the program
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Acceptance!
HOW COMPETITIVE ARE PA RESIDENCIES? (PAA)
Due to the limited seat availability in most PA residency programs, they are competitive to get into. Some programs only take one PA, while others may take a handful. Either way, the seat availability compared to the number of certified PAs in the U.S., any spot in a residency program is highly competitive.
PA POSTGRADUATE RESIDENCY AND FELLOWSHIP PROGRAMS BY SPECIALTY
PA residency programs are categorized by the specialty or field of medicine they focus on. A breakdown of current PA residency programs are as follows, with more being developed every year:
ACUTE CARE
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University of Missouri (see all of the best PA schools in MO)
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Carolinas Healthcare System Center
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Mission Health
CARDIOLOGY
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Mercer-Piedmont Heart
CARDIOTHORACIC SURGERY
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St. Joseph Mercy Hospital
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Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
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Methodist DeBakey Heart and Vascular Center
CRITICAL CARE & TRAUMA
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Carolinas Healthcare System Center
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Intermountain Medical Center
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Einstein/Montefiore Division of Critical Care Medicine
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Emory Critical Care
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Johns Hopkins Hospital
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St. Joseph Mercy Hospital
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St. Luke’s Hospital
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Mayo Clinic Arizona
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WakeMed Health and Hospitals
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Winthrop University Hospital
DERMATOLOGY
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Medical College of Wisconsin
EMERGENCY MEDICINE
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Albany Medical Center
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Albert Einstein Medical Center
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Arrowhead Regional Medical Center
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Baylor College of Medicine
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Brown Alpert Medical School
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Carilion Clinic
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Eastern Virginia Medical School
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St. Luke’s Hospital
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Jane R. Perlman/NorthShore University Health Systems
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Johns Hopkins- Bayview Hospital
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Lakeland Regional Health
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Marquette University- Aurora Health
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New York University
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University of Missouri
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New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Medical Center
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Regions Hospital
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Staten Island University Hospital
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Team Health EMAPC Fellowship
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University of Iowa
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University of New Mexico School of Medicine
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UCSF Fresno
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US Army/Air Force-Baylor
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Yale New Haven Hospital
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University of Kentucky
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Carolina Healthcare System
FAMILY MEDICINE
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Carolinas Healthcare System
GERIATRICS
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Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center
HEMATOLOGY & ONCOLOGY
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Mayo Clinic Arizona
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MD Anderson Cancer Center
HOSPITALIST
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Carolinas Healthcare System
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Mayo Clinic Arizona
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Regions Hospital
INTERNAL MEDICINE
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CAROLINAS HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
NEONATOLOGY
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Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
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University of Kentucky
OB-GYN
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Arrowhead Regional Medical Center
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Montefiore Medical Center
ORTHOPEDICS
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Arrowhead Orthopedics
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Carilion Clinic
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Illinois Bone and Joint Institute
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UCSF Fresno
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DMC Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine
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Riverside University Health System
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Navy PA Graduate Training
OTOLARYNGOLOGY
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Mayo Clinic Arizona
PEDIATRICS
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Carolinas Healthcare System
PRIMARY CARE
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Shasta Community Health Center
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North Florida- South Georgia Veterans Health System
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The Emory Physician Assistant Program and The Veterans Atlanta Medical Center
PSYCHIATRY
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Nationwide Children’s Hospital Child and Adolescent Psychiatry PA Program
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University of Iowa
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The Cherokee Mental Health Institute
SURGERY
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Bassett Healthcare
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Duke University Medical Center
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Hartford Healthcare
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Johns Hopkins Hospital
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Montefiore Medical Center- Albert Einstein College of Medicine
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Norwalk Hospital/Yale
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Texas Children’s Hospital Pediatric Surgery
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University of Florida
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University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
URGENT CARE
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Carolinas Healthcare System
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Carilion Clinic Urgent Care and Rural Health
UROLOGY
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Carolina Healthcare System
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UT Southwestern Medical Center
ONCOLOGY
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The Ohio State University
ORGAN TRANSPLANT
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PA Abdominal Organ Transplant Fellowship
COMPENSATION FOR PA RESIDENCIES
PA residencies do not cost money to attend and provide compensation or a stipend for the time in the program. The compensation of the residency programs listed above range between $50,000-75,000. Many residency programs also offer medical insurance plans with options for dental and optical coverage. Other benefits include professional liability insurance, paid time off and CME (continuing medical education) credits. After the completion of a fellowship, you earn up to 50 category I CME credits granted by the AAPA. All certified PAs must earn CME credits to sustain their certification.
CONCLUSION
PA residencies provide PAs the opportunity to further their education through guided didactic and clinical skills experiences. A program tailored to helping PAs become experts in a specialty. Upon completion of a PA residency, the PA will earn a certification and may even earn a Doctor of Medical Science degree (DMSc). Coming right out of PA school with only minimal experience in each specialty, residency programs can start to pave the way for you to provide expert, focused medical care.
