Career Resources

Areas of Practice

The Areas of Practice Guide is a collection of data, CME, personal perspectives, networking and job opportunities, and other tools and resources that AAPA has pulled together to help you succeed.

Your Step-by-Step Guide for Starting a New Job

Use our checklist to be prepared to start practicing strong on day one.

Finding Your Dream Job

There is no perfect job. Career satisfaction is highly individualized. PAs can find the right job for them by carefully considering variables like work-life balance, compensation, and work setting, and prioritizing the variables that align with their passions, values, and morals.

Preparing for Contract Renegotiation

In this article, the PA Career Coach explores the topic of contract renegotiation and advises you on how to approach you employer about improving your existing agreement.

Creating a Five-Year PA Career Plan

Creating a five-year plan for your PA career is an empowering way to take charge of your career development. Read on for the PA Career Coach’s advice on how to identify your career goals and translate those goals into an actionable plan.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Becoming a Healthcare Consultant

Led by PA Michael Asbach, this interactive members-only webinar will help you understand the healthcare consulting role, develop key skills, build a strong CV, leverage your healthcare experience, and navigate the entry into consulting.

Key Networking Tips for Pre-PAs

Do you want to learn from the experiences and insights of PA and PA student experts? This article includes the biggest takeaways from participants of the Pre-PA Virtual Mixer, including how to prepare for PA school and excel in your career as a PA.

2023 Pre-PA Virtual Mixer

Malatrice Montgomery, PA-C and host of the the 2023 Pre-PA Virtual Mixer, shares her tips for networking, even as an introvert.

PA Administrators

PAs in administration utilize leadership and management competencies above and beyond their clinical skill set to positively affect patient care; they are aspiring or current experts in the business of medicine, revenue cycle management, quality improvement, health information technology, and compliance. AAPA supports PA administrators by offering opportunities to acquire skills and knowledge.

Beyond Your Day Job: Career Advancement via Side Gigs

Join PA Shayne Foley, co-founder of The PA Blueprint, LLC, in this interactive webinar that explores side gigs for PAs. Attendees can earn 1.0 AAPA Category 1 CME credit.

How to Overcome Struggles in Family Medicine

In an AAPA Huddle Ask Me session, two experts with years of experience in family medicine answered questions on increasing the number of PAs in the field, the benefits of getting involved in the community, and how to negotiate for better conditions for PAs and their patients.

Surgery

Surgery is one of the most popular PA specialties – approximately a quarter of the U.S. PA workforce practices in surgery! In addition, more and more PAs are entering the surgical field, helping to ease provider shortages and representing a larger trend towards team-based care in the operating room.

Dermatology

Are you interested in practicing in a busy specialty with predictable hours that also offers a nice work-life balance? Dermatology offers PAs the opportunity to evaluate, diagnose, and treat a wide variety of skin-related health conditions, both medically and surgically.

Maintaining Professional Records Checklist

Although every PA’s path to clinical practice is unique, practicing PAs (and PA students) are responsible for collecting and retaining a standard set of documents as they progress in their careers. We’ve compiled these documents into the handy checklist below so you can make sure you have the professional records you need.

Mental Health and Psychiatry

Mental health disorders, as well as the physical health complications associated with them are on the rise – and are expected to continue to grow even more over the next twenty years. PAs can play a unique role in combatting the mental health crisis that affects communities across the United States.