Physician Assistant Resume Guide + Tips + Example
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Advance in your career with a well-written physician assistant resume. Our guide can help you create an effective physician assistant resume to showcase your skills and present you as a desirable candidate.
Start by editing this sample physician assistant resume template or explore our 40+ resume templates to find the best one for you.
Physician assistant resume example (text version)
Natalie Benjamin
Los Angeles, CA 90001
(555) 555-5555
example@example.com
Professional Summary
Dedicated and highly experienced physician assistant with over a decade of clinical practice in various medical settings. Proven ability to provide exceptional patient care, diagnose and treat complex medical conditions, and collaborate effectively with healthcare teams. Adept at surgical assisting and emergency medicine, consistently achieving positive patient outcomes.
Work History
November 2020 – Current
Alignment Healthcare – Los Angeles, CA
Senior Physician Assistant
- Lead a team of 10 PAs and support staff in providing high-quality patient care, overseeing daily clinic operations.
- Diagnose and treat a wide range of medical conditions, ensuring optimal patient outcomes and satisfaction.
- Spearheaded the implementation of an advanced EHR system, reducing administrative errors by 40%.
September 2014 – October 2020
Los Angeles General Medical – Los Angeles, CA
Certified Physician Assistant
- Administered medications and treatments per physician orders and assisted in surgical procedures, consistently adhering to safety protocols.
- Achieved a 98% patient satisfaction rate through clear communication and patient education.
- Streamlined patient admissions and discharges, reducing wait times by 30%.
June 2012 – August 2014
One Medical – Los Angeles, CA
Physician Assistant
- Assisted in 80 patient evaluations monthly, taking medical histories and assisting during physical exams.
- Collaborated in developing treatment plans and monitoring patients’ progress under supervision.
- Assisted in implementing clinic-wide quality improvement initiatives, resulting in streamlined processes.
Skills
- Patient assessment and diagnosis
- Patient education
- Treatment planning and implementation
- Emergency medicine
- Medication management
- Electronic Health Records (EHR)
- Teamwork and collaboration
- Conflict resolution
Education
University of Southern California Los Angeles
Master of Physician Assistant Practice Physician Assistant
University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA
Bachelor of Science Human Biology
Certifications
Certified Physician Assistant (PA-C) – (2023)
Basic Life Support (BLS) Certification – (2022)
5 essentials of a top physician assistant resume
Contact details
This section of a physician assistant resume will have the personal details needed to reach you. The standard goes: full name, city, state and ZIP code, followed by phone number and email address. Finally, add a professional website or any other professional networking profile, like LinkedIn or a membership organization.
Personal statement
The physician assistant resume summary is your introduction to the hiring manager. Present your best skills and your related work experience in no more than five sentences. The professional summary should include: how long you have been in the industry, one or two professional accomplishments and your job-relevant skills. Always tailor this section to the particular job description.
Skills
The physician assistant resume skills show what you bring to the table and how you work with others. Include keywords from the job description to capture the hiring manager’s attention. Use a bulleted list to include both hard skills, like electronic medical record (EMS) and diagnostics, and soft skills, such as compassion, analytical thinking and problem-solving.
If this is your first job as a physician assistant, you can include transferable skills from other employment.
Work history
In this section, you’ll highlight your physician assistant duties and responsibilities. List your work history in reverse-chronological order to showcase your experience in the field. Add the company names, locations and dates of employment. For every job, include a bulleted list of three measurable accomplishments, like the amount of patients seen on a daily or weekly basis and specialized treatments performed.
If this is your first job, you can include other relevant work experience, like clinical work, rotations, volunteer experiences and more.
Education
Use bullet points to build your physician assistant resume. On each point, include the educational institution’s name, the degree conferred and graduation year. If your graduation date was 10 years ago or more, skip the year.
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Action words for a stand-out physician assistant resume
Action words build powerful statements while saving precious space. This is a great tool to add confidence to your physician assistant resume. Combine them with measurable achievements to create an effective resume for a physician assistant.
Here’s a short list of action words for a physician assistant resume:
- Examine
- Evaluate
- Perform
- Obtain
- Discuss
- Conduct
- Order
- Manage
- Develop
- Educate
- Guide
Create a physician assistant resume quickly and easily with the help of our Resume Builder. Consider our expert suggestions as you build your resume and download the product once you’re satisfied with it. We have 800+ resume examples to help you create the perfect resume for a physician assistant.
Top skills for a physician assistant resume
Create a skills section with your strongest abilities to grab the hiring manager’s attention. Use the physician assistant job description for a resume to match the required skills to the skills and traits that fit you.
Your skills might include the following:
- Diagnostics
- Health risks assessments
- Screening
- Treatment plan development
- Patient education
- Patient care
- Treatment and diagnosis
- Problem-solving skills
- Compassionate care
- Excellent verbal and written communication
Certifications for a physician assistant resume
You must include your National Commission for Certification of Physician Assistants certification, or PA-C along with the certification number in your physician assistant resume.
If you have more certifications, include it in your resume. For example:
- Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) Certification
- Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS)
If you’re still pursuing a certification, you can include it with the expected completion date.
Pair your resume with a matching cover letter
Physician assistant resume FAQ
1. How to put a physician assistant license on a resume?
Include your physician assistant license on the dedicated certifications section of your resume. The information to include is:
- The certification’s full official name
- Issuing organization
- Expiration date
Follow the same pattern for any other certifications.
2. How do you write a physician assistant’s master’s degree on a resume?
A physician assistant must include their master’s degree under their education section. Include the full name of the institution and the degree’s name. There is no need to include the graduation year if a decade has passed.
For example:
San Juan Bautista School of Medicine
Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies
Do’s and don’ts for building a physician assistant resume
- Use measurable achievements to describe your physician assistant skills and experience.
- Use action words to make an impact on your physician assistant resume.
- Tailor your resume to your target physician assistant job.
- Use keywords from the job description throughout your physician assistant resume.
- Format your physician assistant resume so that it is easy to read by ATS software and human eyes.
- Lie about your physician assistant experience and skills.
- Boast about your “incomparable” physician assistant abilities.
- Include irrelevant personal information such as your ethnicity and age.
- Add skills and experience that do not pertain to a physician assistant.
- Forget to proofread. A physician assistant resume with errors is unprofessional and will be discarded.
Top 4 tips for acing a physician assistant interview
Research the company before your interview.
Research the institution’s history, goals and values through its official website, social media and the news. This knowledge will show your potential employer interest, dedication and commitment — traits that hiring managers look for in every candidate. It will also help you craft your own questions for the interviewer. Plus, having a glimpse of the company culture before you arrive will give you an idea of what to expect on arrival so that you can feel confident.
Practice at home.
Prepare for any scenario by practicing an interview with the help of a friend or relative. Start by reviewing the most common interview questions, such as:
- Why Did You Choose This Career?
- Making Work Decisions With Limited Information
- How Do You Deal With Conflict? Give Me an Example
- Discuss a Time You Didn’t Meet Expectations
Research online for other possible interview questions, write down your answers and then practice with your interview partner. Ask them for feedback on your answers and body language, and work with them to improve. Preparation will boost your confidence and chances of getting a callback for a second physician assistant interview.
Pro tip: Practice in front of a mirror. Remember to look at both your facial expressions and body language, which hiring managers will notice.
Be proactive and ask questions.
You are also interviewing the employer. Prepare at least three that will help you learn more about the company, their mission and values and the role. Get started with these examples:
- Why did you choose to work here?
- What steps do you take to ensure continued training and development?
- How do you assess performance?
- What are the biggest challenges the institution faces?
Use open-ended questions and allow the interviewer to answer before moving on to the next one. You can bring a small notebook or piece of paper with your questions written down.
Gather your references.
Contact former managers and colleagues to be potential references as you start applying for physician assistant positions. Your potential references should be able to vouch for your work ethic and skills. Explain to them where you are in the process and let them know they could receive a phone call or email. Also, request at least two letters of recommendation for you.
If this is your first full-time job as a physician assistant, you can request a reference from a mentor or instructor, an individual that can vouch for your skills.
Cover letter examples for the next step in your medical career
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Sources
American Academy of Physician Assistants. What is a PA?
Bureau of Labor Statistics. Physician Assistants
Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. Physician Assistant
National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants. National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA)
American Board of Medical Specialties. Become Board Certified: Define the Specialist You Want to Be
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Physician Assistant Resume Example
Nilda is a Certified Professional Resume Writer who has written for The Washington Post and Latina Style Magazine. She has a master's in Journalism from Columbia University and is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.