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PA Jobs Career Mentorship & Education Newsletter, Issue IV: April 2025
A PA Jobs LLC Newsletter
Authors: Jennifer Vonderau, MMS, PA-C and Shannon Crabtree, MMS, PA-C
Today's Topic: Physician Associate (PA) Compensation
Congratulations! You've landed the job you want, you're ready for contract review, and... you are now realizing you wish you had a few MBA classes under your belt. Contract review and compensation packages may feel outside of your wheelhouse, as it's certainly not common to be offered education in that subject in PA school. No one wants to miss out on a higher salary or better benefits, but the process of negotiation can feel extremely daunting. You're not alone in feeling this way! And we're here to help.
What goes into a PA compensation? How do you know if what you're being offered is "good enough"? And what happens when you reach a point in your job where you believe your salary should be increased or benefits improved, but your employer hasn't initiated or offered a conversation? Practicing medicine is an art, a joy, a calling, and a fulfilling career journey. But it is still a job, and your time is valuable and worth appropriate compensation.
Medicine is different than many other professions, and with that may come confusing "help and advice" from loved ones who work in other fields. Contract negotiation, which may discuss expectations for your role, patient volume, work environment, pay structure, funding for continuing education, health and insurance benefits, and anticipated additional duties, can be complex and difficult to navigate. Any contract as a medical provider may also take into account things like relative value units (RVUs), shift differentials, on-call coverage, mandated licenses to maintain, and other terms and details not standard to other professions. For that reason, knowing the terms on the table, what your non-negotiables and areas of compromise are, and what you can expect to be offered is incredibly important.
It's not just an employer looking for an employee. This is your chance to see what a job really offers. A job should work for both of you.
Mentorship Spotlight
Advocating for Your Worth: Smart Contract Negotiation
by Jamie Martin, MPAS, PA-C
After over a decade working as a physician assistant, I’ve come to learn that career satisfaction hinges not only on clinical growth but also on the ability to negotiate contracts that reflect your value and support your lifestyle. Like many of you, I entered the field driven by a passion for patient care—not spreadsheets and salary structures. But as I gained experience and consistently contributed to practice revenue, I realized that advocating for myself was not just acceptable—it was essential.
I started my career in family medicine, where I was compensated with a flat base salary that didn’t accurately reflect the time or emotional energy required to do the job well. The workload was intense, the charting often spilled into my evenings, and the mental toll was hard to ignore—especially as it pulled time and presence away from my family. I had always been drawn to dermatology, and I knew I wanted to make that transition.
When a new dermatology office opened in my hometown, I took a chance, cold-called the practice, and secured a position through networking and persistence. I began working five days a week, building my patient base and refining my skills. After my son was born, I made the intentional decision to reduce my schedule to four days a week, creating a better balance between my role as a provider and as a parent.
Currently, my compensation model includes a base salary and a quarterly incentive bonus tied to a percentage of my net collections. This structure rewards productivity while allowing flexibility, and it didn’t happen by accident—it was the result of intentional, informed negotiation.
Here are a few strategies I’ve learned along the way:
1. Know Your Numbers
Understand your financial impact. Track your billing, collections, and patient volume. When you can quantify your value, you’re negotiating from a position of strength. Don’t be afraid to ask for production reports—knowing your net collections empowers you to push for bonuses that align with your output.
2. Don’t Be Afraid to Prioritize Work-Life Balance
When I proposed a four-day workweek, I expected pushback. Instead, I offered a model: fewer days but high-efficiency scheduling and a bonus system that incentivized productivity. The result? I maintained financial growth while gaining an extra day each week to recharge and be present for my family.
3. Structure Matters
A base salary offers security, but incentive bonuses create opportunity. Ensure clarity on how bonuses are calculated—gross vs. net collections, thresholds, and percentages all matter. Ideally, your bonus should scale with your performance and be paid regularly (quarterly works well for cash flow).
4. Communicate Like a Partner
Frame your negotiations around shared goals. When you succeed, so does the practice. Highlight how your plan benefits the team—higher patient retention, more revenue, and increased patient satisfaction.
In the end, your contract should reflect your contributions, your goals, and your life. Be confident. You are not just asking for more—you are aligning your compensation with your value. And when done well, negotiating isn’t just about money—it’s about building a sustainable, fulfilling career.
Compensation Considerations for PAs
Compensation ≠ Salary/ Hourly Pay Rate. Remember, when reviewing job offers and contracts, look beyond the salary or hourly rate. Identify all of the compensation the employer may offer, including contributions to health insurance, retirement, parental leave, PTO (with or without sick time and holidays), continuing medical education, and licensure and society membership dues; loan repayment assistance or qualifying forgiveness programs; access to a laptop or other work device for home telehealth visits/ charting/ inbasket management; and wellness funds. Decide what has value for you and what equates a "good" offer.
Know What a PA is Worth. Become a member of our national organization, the AAPA, to gain access to their annual salary report. Utilize objective data that considers years of experience, geographic location, specialty, and setting to help set expectations for negotiation.
Be Informed of Your Benchmarks. Demand clear, objective, and readily available benchmarks that determine your bonus, base compensation, and/ or raises. Ensure that this information is readily available to you and relayed to you in an unbiased way. Are patient evaluation scores utilized? What about peer or collaborative physician feedback? Know exactly what is tied to your paycheck. If an employer can't answer these questions or is apt to hide information, that's a red flag.
New Grad or New Specialty May Mean Lower Pay. A new graduate or a PA new to a specialty is assumed to be less efficient, bill at a lower level, and see fewer patients than an experienced provider. However, in contract negotiation, there may be room to discuss a trial period in which your productivity and overall fit is assessed. Know what benchmarks more experienced providers are expected to meet, and, if you can, demonstrate how you have or can meet that criteria. It's possible to negotiate an early raise or increase to benefits if you're meeting the standards of a tenured employee even as a "new" PA. Have confidence in your abilities to learn quickly (and reference your skills and professional history that demonstrate this). Build this reassessment and raise into your contract.
New Job for More Money? There are so many benefits to loyalty and seniority by staying at the same job over time: ongoing rewarding patient relationships; support, comfort, respect, and friendship from colleagues; scheduling preferences; familiarity and ease of processes; and (hopefully) personal and career growth. However, a potential con of staying at the same place long-term, even with promotion or advancement, is slower increases to your compensation. A good health system will recognize the impact of inflation and demand on its compensation and adjust accordingly, but big raises are not common in healthcare. Outliers exist, but one strategy to improve your compensation package is to find a new role that offers a higher salary. Even if you don't take that role, you can utilize their package to leverage negotiations at your current institution.
Additional Resources for Negotiating Contracts
"Understanding and Improving Your Work RVUs" by the American Academy of Family Physicians
"4 PA Contract Negotiation Tactics" by Physician Assistant Contract Review
Contracts and Negotiations for Physician Assistants with Lianne Hahn Video by The PA Platform
"How to Negotiate Your Contract as a Physician Assistant" by Olivia Vahlsing, PA-C on Blueprint
On-Call Compensation for PAs: 4 FAIR Pay Strategies by Physician Assistant Contract Review
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