Salary of a P.A. in DERMATOLOGY

All these questions about becoming a PA. Just go to aapa and find out. And its not hard to find someone to shadow; www.aapa.org/

Amanda in Chicago, Illinois said: I was also interested in this topic.Thanks:)

Amanda & Monica,

Salary differences can be unimaginable, basis on a number of factors. Some of them are just common sense; others are a tidbit complex. As a practicing PA-C, I can earnestly tell you, your earning potential will depend on you and the decisions you make regarding your career.

Right now the median income being touted is $90k/yr.

I hope this helps? If you are looking for something more specific and/or tangible with regards to earnings, I suggest you find a practicing PA who would be willing to share their income information with you.

Good luck ladies!

M
DHSc, PA-C

Dermatology PA salaries can range from $80k-over $300K. There are so many different variables: full time vs part time, general, cosmetic, or surgical dermatology, how many pts are seen per day, overall collections to the pratice, and time devoted to duities outside of clinical care (ie admin time, research studies, etc). Many PAs are confused about finding an appropriate pay structure in dermatology. Base salary + productivity bonus or straight percenatge? This comes down to personal preference.
If you need more assistance or help determining where you should fall in the range, feel free to email me.

K. Drapeau D'Amato PA-C
kasey@certifiedpaconsulting.com
www.certifiedpaconsulting.com

I have been working in dermatology for the past 4 years. I am considering changing practices but do not know how to negotiate a contract. I know that many derm PAs have salary plus bonus. What salary should I expect? In addition what bonus (% of collections) is typical to ask for? The physician that wants to hire me is offering a 15% bonus quarterly of everything I make over his offered base salary ($100K/year). Does this sound right or do most PAs make more of a production bonus? Also, I currently don't do any cosmetics but would like to start and he has said he wants me to do cosmetics. Is is appropriate to ask for a higher bonus for cosmetics than medical derm? Ex: 15% for collections from insurance and more for cosmetics. I know my derm PA friends in Virginia make a base salary, a production bonus on medical derm, and then between 50-75% bonus on cosmetics. If anyone can share their bonus structure (or what to ask for/expect) with me that would be great. Thank you for your help.

It is very typical for Dermatology PAs to be paid with some kind of productivity structure. Sometimes that can be a base salary with a percentage paid on collections over a certain dollar amount, or sometimes it can be a percentage structure with no base salary at all.
There is no right or wrong answer. It depends on what feels most comfortable for you and your supervising physician.
While many PAs assume that they will be paid higher if they perform cosmetic procedures, that is often not the case. Cosmetic procedures have high overhead (cost of Botox, etc) and less room for profit compared to general dermatology procedures which have almost no overhead cost. Many PAs are suprised that they are actually paid less for their cosmetic procedures compared to their general dermatology procedures.

Most likely your friends who state they receive 50% or more for cosmetics, are having the cost of the material subtracted before those calculations are taking place. It would be very rare to have enough mark up on Botox, etc for the SP to be able to pay 50-75% to the PA and still have any profit left for the practice.

I am an experienced dermatology PA and have provided consulting services for over 2 years for PAs like yourself who can be confused by the negotiation process.

Feel free to email me if you would like personal assistance with your situation.

Good Luck!

Kasey
kasey@certifiedpaconsulting.com
www.certifiedpaconsulting.com

leagatt...I'm a derm PA. Do you have any idea of your actual annual collections? That would be helpful in judging your situation. I personally would ask for a higher bonus percentage compensation. Mine is more like this....10% for the first 10000 over salary, then 20% for the next ten until it gets to 50%.. then it stays there. In your case if he will not go higher on the bonus compensation I would ask for a larger salary. Use your past collections to prove your point about what you are bringing to the table.

Scott, PA-C, MPAS

leagatt: I am not a PA. For 20+ years, I have gathered and saved salary negotiations advice from derm PAs and conducted many salary surveys (which are pretty useless, let's admit, because the ones who make the highest salaries won't participate in them). See lots of free handouts at www.marymonroe.squarespace.com which is a NON PROFIT site relating to salary advice, bonus structures, sample contracts, a formula you can manipulate to fit YOUR situation for calculating a salary & bonus, job lists, preceptor lists for students and more. If salary negotiations are overwhelming, I HIGHLY recommend a professional negotiator like KASEY in messages above (I am not affiliated with her) because the derms will hire a lawyer to draw up contracts and lawyers tend to not understand PA DEPENDENT partnerships or how profitable derm PAs can be and will use the same wording they use for a contract with a dermatologist MD PARTNER, and even those non-compete clauses that say you cannot work in the same town or a certain radius if you break your contract, or worse, have to pay back a large part of your salary. Remember 2 things about base salary and bonus structures: (1) A low base salary and HIGH bonus structure is not a good thing when you are on vacation, or sick, or off work for any reason; (2) A high bonus structure sometimes creates a work-a-holic who finds themselves doing 10-12-hour days and/or weekends. About cosmetics: cosmetics are up-front, full-pay patients, so there is no bad-debt ratio to contend with that reduces your percentage in calculating a bonus structure. You can also find the website by googling my name and the words, "dermatology physician assistant jobs." Again, no fees; all assistance is for PAs and PA-S's only.

I am moving to new york in august and I am interested in gaining some patient experience as a medical assistant in a derm practice. I have a B.S. degree in psychology and I graduated with highest honors. I plan on applying to PACE university for their PA program after gaining some experience and finishing a pre-req or two. Does anyone have any suggestions? I could become certified as a medical assistant, but the school is very expensive considering what medical assistants make.

Hello everyone,
I was wondering if any of you have a PA directory for dermatologist in the Tulsa and Broken area in Oklahoma. I know I was able to shadow a few PA thanks to someone in here for providing me a list with PA. But I recently moved and I the list was misplace. I would like to shadow a few other PAs, if you know of any PA's in Tulsa that would like to have someone shadow them, then please let me know.

Thanks so much!

Cinthia

Cinthia--I am in Tulsa (am I the one you stayed with when you where here long ago?) I have such a list. Email me privately. Search for my full name AND the 4 words, "dermatology physician assistant jobs" to find me.
--Mary

Hi Mary,
I'm so glad you found me again.
Yes I remeber speaking with you before through this forum. I shadowed 2 PAs thanks to you. I graduated from college last summer and I've been working in a healthcare facility and I've been volunteering too. I want to shawdow as many PAs as I can before and during PA school. I am submitting my application this year. Actually in a few months. I did sent you an e-mail a few minutes ago. If you didnt get it please let me know.

Thanks again.

Cinthia