Cardiovascular/cardiothoracic surgery top grossing specialty for PAs

With a median income of $147,500, physician assistants/physician associates (PA) working within cardiovascular/cardiothoracic surgery had the highest compensation of all PAs in 2021. This amount includes both salary/hourly wages as well as any bonuses received. For PAs in cardiovascular/cardiothoracic surgery, their base salary was $140,000 and their bonus was $7,500.

This information comes from the 2022 American Academy of PAs Salary Report. Only specialties with 100 or more respondents were included in the breakdown of compensation by specialty. According to the American Academy of PAs, PAs work in more than 60 different specialties.

The second highest earners were PAs working in dermatology, at $146,000. Although they trailed closely behind PAs in cardiovascular/cardiothoracic surgery, there was a larger gap between the median base salaries of these two specialties. The base salary for PAs in dermatology was $110,00 with an average annual bonus of $22,000.

The salary survey also looked at burnout among PAs by asking them to complete a Professional Fulfillment Index. Cardiovascular/cardiothoracic surgery and dermatology had similar rates PAs experiencing symptoms of burnout at 47.6% and 43.2%, respectively. Among all PAs across all specialties, the national average rate of burnout was 52.3%.