All About Non-Clinical Physician Assistant Jobs

While the majority of PA career opportunities are clinical in nature, there are a number of non-clinical physician assistant jobs out there. For some PAs, these can be a great option, especially if you’re looking to make a career change or start a non-clinical side gig.

In this post we’re going to review some of the non-clinical physician assistant jobs PAs often pursue, so you can get a sense of the career paths open to you as a result of the degree you earned.

Here are a few places to start looking if you’ve decided to take the road less traveled! 🚗

6 Non-Clinical Physician Assistant Jobs to Consider

1. Education

The world of PA education is a great place to look for non-clinical physician assistant jobs. Pursuing a role in education provides a variety of benefits, such as work-life balance, weekends/holidays off, and, of course, helping to educate future PAs. If you love medicine and performed well in school, this may be a great opportunity for you!

While working in education can be an excellent and fulfilling full-time job, there are opportunities available that require less commitment. There are multiple educational roles available to you part time, including roles as a virtual PA school tutor or part-time faculty at a local PA school. There are even opportunities to help out as needed at local PA programs, which hire PAs to help with roles like grading OSCEs or giving guest lectures!

Personally, I had known since graduating PA school that I wanted to eventually step into the world of teaching. However, being new in my career, I wasn’t quite ready to give up my clinical role. So becoming a part-time PA educator was a great way to begin making the transition to a non-clinical role while still seeing patients.

2. Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Sales

There are many pharmaceutical and medical device companies that like to hire individuals with clinical experience. While you may not come with any sales or marketing experience, knowledge of medicine—and possibly even the sales product—can make you a competitive applicant.

If you’re a clinician and looking to get into sales, I would look for a role with a patient population, product, or similar product you have experience with. For example, because of my prior experience in cardiac and vascular surgery, I would search for a sales position in cardiac or vascular surgery. In my case, my experience would make me a desirable candidate in a field I otherwise don’t have any experience in.

3. Hospital Administration

Hospital administration is another possibility when it comes to non-clinical physician assistant jobs. While a potential employment prospect, administration positions can be competitive and it may take some time to land one.

If this is something you’re passionate about, additional education or certifications may help increase your chances. Pursue any leadership experiences that come your way or take courses that’ll help you stand out when applying. Oftentimes internal candidates with experience in that health system are preferred.

4. Healthcare Administration and Leadership

As a PA, you have the opportunity to advance within your organization. Often this takes time and years of service at a specific facility.

If this is something you may be interested in, I encourage you to grab hold of any and all leadership opportunities presented to you. This includes establishing positive relationships on committees, taking leadership courses, and furthering your influence in your current position. Seniority will likely play a role, so find a place you’re happy at and continue to grow there. You’ll also want to make sure the organization you’re with has roles for PAs in leadership.

Another way to get into the administrative side of medicine is to pursue a Master of Business Administration (MBA). This, of course, would require more schooling, but if you’re passionate about this route it’ll definitely increase your odds of being a competitive candidate. You may find that your current role offers tuition reimbursement when pursuing this additional degree.

5. Medical Writing

Medical writing involves taking health care and scientific information and rephrasing it in a clear way for a variety of different audiences. Medical writers perform a number of tasks, including creating health education materials, writing medical advertisements, and working on abstracts for medical papers. Potential employers include pharmaceutical or device companies, government agencies, and universities (among many others).

To excel in this role, you need to have solid writing skills and a creative mindset. Your medical knowledge as a physician assistant will make you a competitive candidate for these positions. The American Medical Writers Association provides great networking opportunities and excellent resources for pursuing a medical writing position.

6. Legal Roles

Finally, the legal world has a couple of opportunities when it comes to non-clinical physician assistant jobs. One is acting as an expert witness. This simply means that you’re qualified to help the court and jury understand a medical issue at hand. For PAs, this would be a topic that you have an ample amount of experience with.

The other role would be acting as a medical-legal consultant. This is an important position that helps legal teams understand medical terminology and healthcare situations. In this role, you would review cases and medical documentation to ensure compliance is met. Cases involving a medical-legal consultant may include medical malpractice, personal injury, or insurance claims.

The Bottom Line

There are a variety of non-clinical physician assistant jobs that can be used to supplement your income or serve as a new career. And you’ll still be utilizing the degree you worked so hard for!

If you’re looking for a change, I encourage you to explore these opportunities. They may take some time to get into, and require some dedication and further certifications, but if it’s something you’re passionate about, you’ll be thankful you took the chance.

Best of luck out there from us at Blueprint!

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