What are some areas a physician assistant can specialize in?

Question

Can a NP specialize in more areas?

Answer 1

Physician Assistants do not have to specialize, which is a huge bonus.  You go to school for an average of two years after a college degree (or five years total if straight out of high school).  After one year of classes and one year of rotations, you are ready.  You can do anything from brain surgery to delivering babies to general practice to orthopedics.  And if you get tired of pediatrics after 10 years, you can go in to dermatology without going back to school.  Contrast that to NPs, who do specialize.  Common areas of specialization include midwifery (delivering babies and women's health), pediatrics and family practice.  If you know what you want to do- specialize.  Today, doctors are often stuck specializing because of their large debt coming out of school.  "Mid-level" providers (PAs and NPs) are helping to fill that void.

Can't figure out what you want? Shadow! Call the local hospitals, call offices in specialties you think you'd like to do and follow them around for a day.  Talk to students in the professions, look in to the professional organizations.  Make sure you're not in it for the money, but for the patients.  It's hard work, but worth it.  

Answer 2

"Many PAs work in primary care specialties, such as general internal medicine, pediatrics, and family medicine. Other specialty areas include general and thoracic surgery, emergency medicine, orthopedics, and geriatrics. PAs specializing in surgery provide preoperative and postoperative care and may work as first or second assistants during major surgery"

Answer 3

Most of the PA's I've gone to are general practicioners.  If you want to specialize, why don't you just take the extra time and become an MD?