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Physician Assistants
Examines, diagnoses and treats patients as part of a medical team.
Read the full guide
Physician assistants (PAs) see patients, order tests, diagnose illnesses and prescribe treatment, working with physicians. They work in nearly every specialty, from family medicine to surgery, and can change specialties during their career.
Open the physician assistant guide
The guide checks the courses against your plan, with things to try each year. Free account needed.
High school courses that build toward it
- Anatomy and Physiology · Science
Builds biology, which this job uses.
- Health and Wellness · Health and PE
Builds health and medicine, which this job uses.
- Psychology · Social Studies
Builds psychology, which this job uses.
- Veterinary Science · Career and Technical
Builds biology, which this job uses.
- English 10 · English
Builds reading and writing, which this job uses.
- Statistics · Math
Builds math, which this job uses.
Ranked by how much the job relies on what each course teaches, from O*NET's knowledge ratings. Your school's own courses and the counselor have the final word.
Physician Assistants on O*NET OnLine · O*NET 31.0 (U.S. Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections 2025.