PA Salaries Up Almost $4,000 in 2010

PA Salaries Up

Almost $4,000

in 2010

Full-time physician assistant salaries rose by an average of $3,771 in 2010. pas outearned their Np colleagues, and this trend appears to be based on practice setting more than any other issue.

this report, which presents only pa salary data, breaks down salary by work setting, gender, geographic location and academic degree. Does a mental health position pay more than a surgery position? read on to find out.

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NatioNal salary

survey report 2010

5

State Breakdown

of Pa SalarieS

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PA SAlArieS by

Select citieS

8

PA AverAge

SAlArieS According

to AcAdemic degree

9

PA SAlAry Survey

QueStionnAire

BreAkdown

➼

aptly sums up the findings of the 2010 National Salary Survey of Nurse Practitioners and the 2010 National Salary Survey of Physician Assistants. These surveys, conducted by ADVANCE for NPs & PAs, documented small overall salary increases for both professions. But they also recorded a 4.5% drop in hourly pay for NPs who work

part time. Given the troubled economy, the findings appear to be encouraging for 2011 and beyond.

Survey background

Our surveys were conducted using online questionnaires created with Zarca

Interactive’s survey software. We collected data from Aug. 23 through Nov. 30, 2010. Nearly 3,000 NPs (2,956) participated in the survey designed for nurse practitioners, and nearly 1,300 PAs (1,276) answered the version created for physician assistants. Because 2010 was the first year that ADVANCE surveyed both professions, you’ll note some differences in our reporting due to our longer history of gathering data about NP salaries.

national Full-Time Averages

In terms of full-time salaries, PAs make more than NPs. PAs earned Michelle Perron Pronsati and Michael Gerchufsky are the editors of

ADVANCE for NPs & PAs. table 1

nP & PA Salaries, 2001–2010

nurse Practitioners

2010 2009 2007 2005 2003 2001

Average full-time nP salary $90,770 $89,579 $81,397 $74,812 $69,203 63,172

Average part-time nP hourly rate $43.77 $45.85 $40.32 $36.80 $33.89 $32.53

Sources: National Salary Survey of Nurse Practitioners, conducted in 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009 by aDVaNCE for Nurse practitioners. In 2010, conducted by ADVANCE for NPs & PAs.

Physician assistants

2010 2009 2007 2005 2003 2001

Average full-time PA salary $96,876 $93,105* $86,214* $81,129* $76,039* $71,046*

Average part-time PA hourly rate $51.11 — — — — —

Sources: National Salary Survey of Physician Assistants, conducted in 2010 by aDVaNCE for Nps & pas; *American Academy of Physician Assistants National Physician Assistant Census Reports for each given year.

national

Salary

report

2010

Inching Forward With

Mixed results

an average of $96,876 in 2010 (Table 1), while NPs earned an average of $90,770. The surveys also docu-mented a notable difference in salary improvement between 2009 and 2010: Comparing ADVANCE’s 2010 results with 2009 salary data from the American

Academy of Physician Assistants, PAs experienced more than twice the salary increase that NPs did. The average PA salary increase was $3,771, while the average NP salary increase was $1,191.

That PAs generally make more money than NPs

is not a new observation. This trend appears to be based largely on practice setting. PAs more com-monly work in specialties that also generate higher incomes for physicians, such as emergency medicine and surgery (including the really big moneymakers, table 2

2010 Salaries by Practice Setting

nurse Practitioners*

(in descending order by salary; based on 2,956 responses)

Primary work Setting 2010 Salary 2009 Salary change in %

Emergency department $104,549 $104,369 0.2% increase aesthetics/skin care $102,547 $105,152 2.5% decrease Mental health $100,914 $100,140 0.8% increase Cardiology clinic $100,881 $90,159 11.9% increase oncology clinic $98,327 $88,856 10.6% increase hospital $93,943 $93,694 0.3% increase Neonatal unit $93,925 $95,280 1.4% decrease geriatric $93,668 $91,863 1.9% increase house calls $93,390 $98,915 5.6% decrease Corrections $91,630 $88,880 3.1% increase Surgery $91,511 $90,959 0.6% increase retail clinic $90,170 $89,049 1.2% increase hIV clinic $89,857 $88,086 2.0% increase Diabetes/endocrinology $89,710 $85,244 5.2% increase Internal medicine $88,287 $88,903 0.6% decrease Family practice $86,518 $86,520 0.002% decrease pediatric practice $85,618 $83,926 2.0% increase Women’s health $83,687 $83,319 0.4% increase academia $80,400 $81,552 1.4% decrease College health (12 mos.) $79,139 $81,981 3.4% decrease Elementary or secondary school $77,513 $76,965 0.7% increase College health (9 mos.) $60,829 $63,452 4.1% decrease

*year-to-year comparison available for Nps only. 2010 was the first year ADVANCE collected data on pas.

Physician assistants

(in descending order by salary; based on 1,276 responses)

Primary work Setting 2010 Salary

Mental health $116,758 Elementary or secondary school $115,000 Cardiology practice $109,030 aesthetics/dermatology practice $107,727 Emergency department $103,489 Surgery $102,760 hospital unit (other than surgery or emergency

department) $97,680 Nursing home, assisted living or long-term care facility $96,364 Worksite $95,296 academia $95,215 house calls $94,383 hIV clinic $91,333 retail clinic $91,188 Family practice $90,528 Women’s health practice $87,974 pediatric practice $86,894 oncology practice $85,851 College or university clinic $85,441 Correctional facility $81,404 Diabetes/endocrinology practice $69,000

2 for NPs). Emergency medicine ranks fifth for PA pay, and oncology ranks No. 5 for NPs.

The Gender Gap endures

The gender gap long documented in salaries for many professions also is evident among NPs and PAs. As Table 3 shows, men make 12.8% more money than women in the NP profession. In the PA profession, men earn 10.7% more than women. It’s interesting that the average salary of male PAs is so close to that of male NPs — a difference of only $398.

So what factors contribute to the salary differences between men and women among PAs and NPs? Practice setting and practice specialty certainly come into play, but further theorizing here might be best left to economists and sociologists. (Do you have an answer to this question? Start a thread on our discussion board under the Community tab at www.advanceweb.com/NPPA.)

what’s to come?

Looking ahead, it appears that NPs and PAs could see their salaries climb at a faster clip … but not right away.

Although some states are challenging the manda-tory insurance requirement of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, those lawsuits won’t solve the critical shortage of primary care providers in the United States. More than half of NPs deliver primary care to some age group, and roughly 40% of PAs do the same. You’ll be vital to meeting primary care needs, and because you’ll be in demand, salaries are likely to rise in recognition of that. ■

plastic surgery and aesthetics). Although the PA pro-fession once attracted more men than women, today about 65% of PAs are women, so sex predominance does not explain the salary difference.

Part-Time Pay

In the area of part-time practice, hourly rates had climbed steadily over the years for nurse practitio-ners (Table 1). But the average hourly rate for an NP dropped from $45.85 in 2009 to $43.77 in 2010, a decrease of 4.5%. PAs earned an average hourly rate of $51.11 in 2010; we are unable to compare that to part-time earnings in 2009 because we did not survey PAs at that time.

Practice Setting

Perhaps the most fascinating results are in the category of salary by practice setting (Table 2). Among nurse practitioners, work in an emergency department produced the highest income in 2010 ($104,549), with aesthetics/skin care a close second ($102,547). Mental health was the third highest pay producer for NPs ($100,914), yet it was the No. 1 producer for PAs ($116,758).

Among physician assistants, the second highest paying practice setting was elementary and sec-ondary schools ($115,000). That’s in stark contrast to NPs, whose salaries in schools rank 21st among our 22 categories at $77,513. The third highest pay-ing settpay-ing for PAs is cardiology ($109,030), and this specialty ranks fourth for salary among NPs ($100,881). Among PAs, the fourth highest paying practice setting is aesthetics and dermatology (No.

table 3

Salaries by Gender

nurse Practitioners

In the Np profession, women make 12.8% less than men.

Gender 2010 salary

Women (80% of Np respondents) $89,186 Men (20% of Np respondents) $102,271

Physician assistants

In the pa profession, women make 10.7% less than men.

Gender 2010 salary

Women (54.62% of pa respondents) $91,662 Men (45.38% of pa respondents) $102,669

2010 Physician Assistant Salaries by State

Detailed State breakdown in alphabetical order (first entry is full-time salary, second entry is part-time hourly rate)

STATe _reSPonSeSToTAL MeAn MInIMUM MAXIMUM MedIAn

Alabama 7* $95,583 $64,500 $127,000 $99,000 Alaska 8 $119,583_$51.00 $104,000_$45.00 $134,500_$57.00 $115,000_$51.00 Arizona 40 $96,921_$80.91 $60,000_$35.00 $200,944_$250.00 $92,000_$60.00 Arkansas 10* $104,615 $65,000 $190,000 $83,163 California 71 $109,290_$42.88 $71,000_$36.50 $240,000_$50.00 $100,000_$42.50 Colorado 36 $95,318_$46.99 $65,000_$32.00 $185,000_$60.00 $89,952_$47.98 Connecticut 12 $98,975_$50.00 $89,650_$50.00 $150,000_$50.00 $102,000_$50.00 Delaware 3* $105,000 $80,000 $125,000 $110,000 District of Columbia 7* $96,762 $87,000 $114,400 $94,300 Florida 82 $94,531_$45.14 $25,000_$25.10 $156,000_$70.00 $90,000_$52.00 Georgia 32 $98,036_$46.00 $56,000_$30.00 $148,500_$60.00 $97,000_$48.00 Hawaii No responses Na Na Na Na Idaho 11 $84,606_$34.00 $75,000_$34.00 $110,000_$34.00 $83,500_$34.00 Illinois 39 $92,996_$42.88 $57,000_$41.75 $175,000_$44.00 $87,000_$42.88 Indiana 20 $93,259_$29.63 $72,000_$38.90 $140,400_$50.00 $88,500_$38.90 Iowa 16 $93,121_$50.00 $70,000_$50.00 $151,000_$50.00 $90,000_$50.00 Kansas 16 $84,750_$55.50 $58,000_$54.00 $165,000_$57.00 $80,000_$55.50 Kentucky 14 $152,853_$50.00 $60,500_$40.00 $900,000_$60.00 $81,320_$50.00 Louisiana 6* $97,167 $80,000 $125,000 $94,000 Maine 11 $79,436_$32.00 $40,000_$32.00 $150,000_$32.00 $87,300_$32.00 Maryland 39* $96,650 $70,000 $160,000 $95,000 Massachusetts 30 $103,564_$58.00 $66,560_$58.00 $220,000_$58.00 $100,000_$58.00 Michigan 55 $93,732_$44.20 $56,160_$37.00 $150,000_$55.00 $94,000_$40.00 Minnesota 24 $92,891_$42.90 $70,000_$39.00 $116,000_$49.70 $89,650_$40.00 Mississippi No responses Na Na Na Na Missouri 14 $90,923_$41.00 $73,000_$41.00 $115,000_$41.00 $90,000_$41.00

STATe _reSPonSeSToTAL MeAn MInIMUM MAXIMUM MedIAn

Montana 6 $87,250_$39.00 $68,000_$38.00 $96,000_$40.00 $92,500_$39.00 Nebraska 13 $84,745_$33.00 $68,000_$33.00 $110,000_$33.00 $85,000_$33.00 Nevada 3* $106,667 $80,000 $156,000 $84,000 New Hampshire 13* $100,220 $80,000 $158,500 $93,000 New Jersey 30 $95,981_$47.65 $75,000_$38.76 $120,000_$55.00 $95,000_$47.65 New Mexico 7 $99,383_$50.00 $64,000_$50.00 $130,000_$50.00 $99,000_$50.00 New York 125 $89,991_$67.67 $50,000_$33.00 $213,000_$250.00 $87,750_$49.00 North Carolina 69 $103,097_$45.83 $65,000_$32.00 $700,560_$61.50 $89,675_$44.00 North Dakota 3* $79,707 $75,000 $83,000 $81,120 Ohio 46 $90,242_$42.00 $59,000_$33.00 $130,000_$50.00 $90,040_$42.50 Oklahoma 11 $93,183_$55.00 $79,000_$55.00 $135,000_$55.00 $87,250_$55.00 Oregon 14 $94,154_$43.00 $74,000_$43.00 $120,000_$43.00 $95,000_$43.00 Pennsylvania 77 $84,981_$41.35 $47,000_$34.00 $140,000_$47.95 $82,000_$41.37 Rhode Island 4* $109,125 $99,500 $127,000 $105,000 South Carolina 22 $93,533_$37.71 $65,000_$33.13 $152,000_$40.00 $96,000_$40.00 South Dakota 11 $86,399_$48.50 $73,897_$48.50 $145,000_$48.50 $89,000_$48.50 Tennessee 20* $102,070 $67,000 $198,000 $90,700 Texas 86 $112,742_$56.00 $60,000_$37.50 $300,000_$75.00 $104,104_$50.00 Utah 14 $99,222_$53.00 $80,000_$47.50 $130,000_$120.00 $96,000_$47.50 Vermont 5* $92,402 $72,800 $105,000 $93,000 Virginia 33 $89,294_$53.83 $45,000_$36.00 $129,500_$100.00 $86,400_$47.50 Washington 27 $95,549_$81.50 $65,000_$81.50 $125,000_$115.00 $100,000_$81.50 West Virginia 8* $85,375 $67,000 $130,000 $75,000 Wisconsin 25 $100,234_$40.00 $78,385_$40.00 $126,880_$40.00 $98,481_$40.00 Wyoming 1* $124,000 $124,000 $124,000 $124,000

state and city 2010 average salary alabama birmingham $83,250 Mobile No responses Montgomery No responses alaska anchorage $115,000 Fairbanks No responses Juneau No responses arizona phoenix $91,615 tucson $89,500 Mesa $122,157 arkansas Little rock $77,274 Fayetteville $188,000 california Los angeles $109,354 oakland $105,375 San Diego $102,469 San Francisco $105,730 San Jose $145,600 colorado boulder $72,000 Colorado Springs $92,788 Denver $98,931 connecticut bridgeport $100,000 hartford $85,525 New haven $114,000 Stamford No responses Delaware Wilmington $105,000 florida Jacksonville $92,100 Miami $88,901 orlando $81,984 tallahassee $120,000 tampa $94,591

state and city 2010 average salary Georgia athens $98,000 atlanta $100,677 augusta $101,667 Columbus $72,500 Savannah $110,000 hawaii Ewa No responses honolulu No responses idaho boise $80,250 illinois Chicago $89,781 peoria $84,000 rockford $108,500 Springfield $94,500 indiana Evansville No responses Fort Wayne $85,500 gary $94,000 Indianapolis $96,500 iowa

Cedar rapids No responses

Des Moines $105,400 kansas Kansas City $78,750 topeka $70,000 Wichita $71,000 kentucky Lexington $101,348 Louisville $85,000 louisiana baton rouge $125,000 Lafayette No responses New orleans $95,000 Shreveport $94,000 oregon portland $79,253

state and city 2010 average salary Maryland annapolis $100,000 baltimore $95,513 bethesda $116,667 Columbia No responses Silver Spring $105,000 Massachusetts boston $106,857 Lowell No responses Springfield No responses Worcester $100,000 Michigan ann arbor $105,642 Detroit $88,815 Flint No responses grand rapids $86,750 Lansing $115,000 Minnesota Duluth $88,106

Minneapolis and St. paul No responses

rochester $110,350 Mississippi biloxi No responses Jackson No responses oxford No responses Missouri Kansas City $105,000 Springfield $88,500 St. Louis $90,200 Montana billings $90,000

great Falls No responses

Missoula No responses nebraska Lincoln $85,950 omaha No responses nevada Las Vegas $118,000 reno $84,000

2010 PA Salaries by Select cities

2010 PA Salaries by Select cities

new hampshire Manchester $85,000 Nashua $92,000 new Jersey Camden $110,000 Newark $75,000 trenton $90,000 new Mexico albuquerque $90,150

Las Cruces No responses

Santa Fe $64,000

new york

buffalo $81,659

New york City $85,063

rochester $96,813

Syracuse $87,192

new york city Boroughs

brooklyn $85,297 bronx $93,500 Manhattan $87,647 Queens $77,685 Staten Island $53,000 north carolina Charlotte $89,828 greensboro $83,333 raleigh-Durham $141,794 Winston-Salem $84,180 north Dakota bismarck $81,120 Fargo No responses ohio akron No responses Cincinnati $82,000 Cleveland $97,417 Columbus $92,750 toledo $87,500 oklahoma oklahoma City $106,667 tulsa $85,000 Norman No responses

state and city 2010 average salary oregon Eugene No responses portland $88,250 Salem No responses Pennsylvania allentown $84,079 Erie $66,100 philadelphia $101,251 pittsburgh $74,773 rhode island providence $102,250 south carolina Charleston $76,026 Columbia $99,667 greenville $78,000 south Dakota rapid City $88,500

Sioux Falls No responses

tennessee Knoxville $82,000 Memphis $170,000 Nashville $82,500 texas austin $88,000 Dallas-Ft. Worth $105,266 El paso $79,000 houston $109,294 San antonio $124,143 utah provo No responses

Salt Lake City $93,400

Vermont

burlington $82,900

Virginia

Norfolk No responses

richmond No responses

Virginia beach No responses

Northern Va.-D.C. No responses

state and city 2010 average salary Washington Seattle $101,000 Spokane $110,333 tacoma $85,000 Vancouver $94,375 West Virginia Charleston $100,000 huntington No responses Wisconsin green bay $108,000 Madison $98,000 Milwaukee $91,969 Wyoming Cheyenne No responses

2010 PA Average Salaries

According to Academic degree

2010 doctoral degree

Salary breakdown

type of Doctoral Degree

2010 average salary

phD $106,502 DhScpa $123,500 EdD $95,345 DhSc $101,786 Drph $130,000 other doctorate $75,457 associate degree (4.63%)

$103,365

$95,745

$98,784

$95,712

2010 national Physician Assistant Salary Survey Questionnaire

Questionnaire Breakdown With results (total respondents = 1,276)

Editor’s note: This breakdown does not include the questions about city and state of residence. For data reflecting salary averages in states and select cities, see those individual breakout reports.

Are you currently an nccPA-certified PA?

No: 3.92% yes: 96.08%

have you completed a postgraduate physician assistant program, fellowship or residency?

No: 87.93% yes: 12.07%

what type of postgraduate PA program, fellowship or residency did you complete?

Cardiovascular/Cardiothoracic Surgery: 1.30% Critical Care: 1.30%

Dermatology/Dermatologic Surgery: 1.30% Emergency Medicine: 22.08%

hospital Internal Medicine: 3.90% Multispecialty: 15.58% Neonatology: 2.60% Nephrology: 0% Neurosurgery: 1.30% obstetrics/gynecology: 0.65% orthopedics: 11.04%

otolaryngology/head and Neck Surgery: 0% psychiatry: 3.25%

rheumatology: 1.95% Surgery: 9.09% Urology: 1.30% other: 23.38%

what is the highest degree you have obtained?

associate: 4.63% bachelor’s: 32.31% Master’s: 60.16% Doctorate: 2.90%

what is your current specialty?

academics: 1.41% addiction Medicine: 0.47% allergy/Immunology: 0.71% anesthesiology: 0.31% Cardiology: 4.15% Critical Care: 1.18% Dermatology/aesthetics: 3.13% Emergency Medicine: 13.71% Endocrinology: 0.55% Family/general Medicine: 22.02% gastroenterology: 1.65% geriatrics: 1.10% hematology/oncology: 2.19% hospital Medicine: 2.59% Internal Medicine: 7.05% Neonatology: 0.24% Neurology: 0.71% obstetrics/gynecology: 2.43% occupational Medicine: 2.19% ophthalmology: 0.08% orthopedics: 8.62% pain Management: 1.88% pathology: 0.08% pediatrics: 2.12%

physical Medical rehabilitation: 0.86% psychiatry: 1.57% public health: 0.55% pulmonology: 0.86% radiology: 2.19% rheumatology: 0.47% Surgery: 12.93%

what is your primary employment setting?

academia: 2.98%

aesthetics/Dermatology practice: 2.74% Cardiology practice: 3.13%

College or University Clinic: 1.41% Correctional Facility: 1.10%

Diabetes/Endocrinology practice: 0.39% Elementary or Secondary School: 0.08% Emergency Department: 12.07% Family practice: 24.53% hIV Clinic: 0.47%

hospital Unit (other than Surgery or Emergency Department): 17.40%

house Calls: 0.55%

Mental health Setting: 1.10%

Nursing home, assisted Living or Long-term Care Facility: 1.49%

oncology practice: 1.57% pediatric practice: 1.49% retail Clinic: 2.43% Surgery Setting: 16.30% Women’s health practice: 2.51% Worksite: 6.27%

2010 national Physician Assistant Salary Survey Questionnaire

Questionnaire Breakdown With results (total respondents = 1,276)

Editor’s note: This breakdown does not include the questions about city and state of residence. For data reflecting salary averages in states and select cities, see those individual breakout reports.

do you work in a subspecialty?

No: 60.42% yes: 39.58%

do you own your own practice?

No: 98.75% yes: 1.25%

how many hours a week to you work in your primary employment setting?

Full time (35 hours or more): 90.83% part time (less than 35 hours): 9.17%

what is your current full-time annual salary?

$96,876

what is the hourly rate of your primary part-time position?

$51.11

how many years have you practiced as a physician assistant?

11.49

does your job include call duty?

No: 66.61% yes: 33.39%

do you get paid for being on call?

No: 67.61% yes: 32.39%

how is your on-call pay calculated?

Specific amount for Unlimited hours or Calls: 23.19% base amount plus Extra for Calls: 22.46%

hourly rate: 28.99% percentage of Salary: 7.97% other: 17.39%

which of the following benefits does your employer offer, either fully or partially paid?

(check all that apply)

health Insurance: 87.77%

paid Continuing Education: 80.64% professional association Dues: 60.27% paid time off: 87.30%

profit Sharing: 21.94% retirement plan: 75.08% tuition reimbursement: 23.51% Malpractice Insurance: 91.07% other: 10.89%

do you purchase your own malpractice insurance

(whether or not your employer offers it)?

No: 93.18% yes: 6.82%

on average, about how many patients do you see per week?

79.77 patients

on average, how many recommendations for over-the-counter medications do you make per week?

29.32 recommendations

on average, how many prescriptions do you write per week?

71.41 prescriptions

do you plan to open your own healthcare-related business in the next 5 years?

No: 91.69% yes: 8.31%

Select the most appropriate descriptor for the geography of your work setting.

rural: 20.38% Suburban: 43.81% Urban: 35.82%

what is your gender?

Female: 54.62% Male: 45.38%

what is your age?

42.73