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can a physician assistant work in a plastic surgury setting. how common is this?if so what can they perform in the surgury?and also what are the salary's for PA's in plastic surgury
PA's in plastic surgury
- Thread starter kent100s78
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HOPE THIS HELPS. THIS IS FROM THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PA WEBSITE(AAPA.ORG). STARTING SALARIES PROBABLY 80-125 K, MORE AFTER A SURGICAL RESIDENCY(FOR A LIST OF THESE SEE WWW.APPAP.ORG)
Physician Assistants in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
Physician Assistants working in Plastic and Reconstructive surgery work in a variety of settings that encompass cosmetic surgery, burn management and reconstruction of both congenital and trauma related injuries. In particular, the PA in the cosmetics subspecialty will often have to deal with celebrities and other individuals who require heightened attention to confidentiality. Many Plastic surgeons look for PAs with experience in a variety of surgical specialties as these skills frequently come into play within the scope of the practice.
Since many Plastic surgeons practice in office-based operating rooms and "Surgicenters", the PA must be current in BCLS, ACLS and be comfortable with management of cardiac and respiratory emergencies. The Plastic surgery PA works in all settings from the office to the ED. Below are listed the basic requirements for PAs interested in pursuing this surgical specialty.
Office:
Knowledge of reimbursement issues.
Knowledge of patient insurance plans and the ability to communicate with insurance companies in writing.
Attend at least one plastic surgical CME offering yearly.
Maintain skills of the Primary Care PA.
Consult with product and pharmaceutical representatives.
Ability to perform wound checks, suture and drain removals.
Ability to perform minor surgical procedures without in-room supervision.
Ability to perform consultations in the surgeon?s absence.
Ability to take call.
Dictation of operative and discharge summaries.
Operating Room:
Ability to first assist on all cases.
Suture skills equal to that of the surgeon.
Knowledge of anatomy of all cases.
Knowledge of latest surgical techniques.
Ability to contribute intelligent input into the surgical procedure.
Perform inventory of all necessary Plastic surgical supplies and prostheses.
Hospital:
Ability to write orders in Recovery Room, ICU and floor.
Follow patients and write daily progress notes.
Maintain clear communication with the attending surgeon and any consultants regarding patient status both pre and post discharge.
PAs with this compendium of knowledge and skills will find Plastic and Reconstructive surgery a rewarding and fascinating specialty. The full breadth of your PA training, from basic primary-care assessments to advanced intraoperative techniques, will be utilized in the care of your patients.
Physician Assistants in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
Physician Assistants working in Plastic and Reconstructive surgery work in a variety of settings that encompass cosmetic surgery, burn management and reconstruction of both congenital and trauma related injuries. In particular, the PA in the cosmetics subspecialty will often have to deal with celebrities and other individuals who require heightened attention to confidentiality. Many Plastic surgeons look for PAs with experience in a variety of surgical specialties as these skills frequently come into play within the scope of the practice.
Since many Plastic surgeons practice in office-based operating rooms and "Surgicenters", the PA must be current in BCLS, ACLS and be comfortable with management of cardiac and respiratory emergencies. The Plastic surgery PA works in all settings from the office to the ED. Below are listed the basic requirements for PAs interested in pursuing this surgical specialty.
Office:
Knowledge of reimbursement issues.
Knowledge of patient insurance plans and the ability to communicate with insurance companies in writing.
Attend at least one plastic surgical CME offering yearly.
Maintain skills of the Primary Care PA.
Consult with product and pharmaceutical representatives.
Ability to perform wound checks, suture and drain removals.
Ability to perform minor surgical procedures without in-room supervision.
Ability to perform consultations in the surgeon?s absence.
Ability to take call.
Dictation of operative and discharge summaries.
Operating Room:
Ability to first assist on all cases.
Suture skills equal to that of the surgeon.
Knowledge of anatomy of all cases.
Knowledge of latest surgical techniques.
Ability to contribute intelligent input into the surgical procedure.
Perform inventory of all necessary Plastic surgical supplies and prostheses.
Hospital:
Ability to write orders in Recovery Room, ICU and floor.
Follow patients and write daily progress notes.
Maintain clear communication with the attending surgeon and any consultants regarding patient status both pre and post discharge.
PAs with this compendium of knowledge and skills will find Plastic and Reconstructive surgery a rewarding and fascinating specialty. The full breadth of your PA training, from basic primary-care assessments to advanced intraoperative techniques, will be utilized in the care of your patients.
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Only plastics related PA that I've had experience with was a Burn PA. She often would be harvesting skin graft while the surgeon was excising the burn. She'd then mesh the graft and get everything prepped to put it on.
I've heard of plastics PAs. Most of the ones that I've heard about often to kind of tedious stuff. At one place, they spend the entire day doing the harvests for hair micrografts!
I've heard of plastics PAs. Most of the ones that I've heard about often to kind of tedious stuff. At one place, they spend the entire day doing the harvests for hair micrografts!
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I think it would be exceedingly rare these days for anyone to hire a PA. They would be much more expensive then a LPN or RN who you could train to do most things at a much less salary then a PA would command. I thing the only way a PA would be valuable would be if you had a large inpatient service (VERY rare theses days in PRS even in academia) where a PA could write orders & discharge patients for you
I worked in a plastics dept. doing research with a hand surgeon that had a PA. She got to do quite a bit (assisted in OR, closed, casted, H&Ps, examined pts. in clinic and presented to attending just as the residents did).
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Just was working with a NP who was recruited from the ED to work with a private plastic surgeon in town. She was told she will be assisting with the surgeries (I'm not sure how much as this guy has a fellow already) and doing a lot of the pre-op physicals and the like - Most of his work is aesthetic and same day surgery.
She has been an NP for ~6 years (In the ED setting).
Her salary starting with the plastics surgeon will be $60k.
She has been an NP for ~6 years (In the ED setting).
Her salary starting with the plastics surgeon will be $60k.
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I work with about 15 private practice plastic surgeons during my training (in addition to my university staff). With close to 40 Plastic Surgeons in this area, no one has hired a NP or PA for their practice. I asked a few of them recently this question posed here & they agreed that it made little sense to hire a NP or PA for the extra $$$ they'd command. A fair number of them have LPN or RN's who they hire who scrub their cases to assist & help with many of the closures after they train them. I got the impression that most salaries ran 35-45K + benefits, bonuses, and profit-sharing plans pushing some of them into the 50-55K range depending on who they worked for. Despite the good money, there is tremendous turnover in these positions b/c a lot of these plastic surgeons put in 50-80 hours a week & just burn out the nurses with the pace of their practice.
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