How to Write a Physician Assistant Resume: Templates & Tips

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Working in medicine is never an easy job, and finding a job as a physician assistant (PA) can be pretty difficult as well. 

The best tool to get you from sending in applications to meeting with patients is a well-written resume. 

A great way to ensure yours is up to the task is to use a resume builder to ensure all this information is added, and you don’t leave anything out. 

It will be up to you to include the most relevant details that will help your resume stand out.

In this guide, you’ll find the treatment that your resume needs as we examine: 

• Physician assistant resume examples to show you what to include and avoid.
• The skills and keywords that you should add. 
• How to write your resume to catch the attention of a job recruiter or hiring manager. 
• How to include your prior experience and education in your resume. 

You’ll also get helpful tips and advice that ensure your resume will impress a hiring manager.

Before you start to create your own resume, it’s often a wise choice to look at a resume example. This allows you to review what will be needed to create a job-winning resume.

Below you can see an example of a resume for a Physician Assistant position, which can give you a good idea of how to structure yours correctly.

resume Example

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[Richard Johnson]

[Physician Assistant]

[Tulip Avenue, Philadelphia, PA, 55501 | (555) 232-5219 | RJohnson123@gmail.com]

Summary

An experienced and certified physician assistant with 5+ years of clinical experience. Cared for dozens of patients while staying in line with the values of the medical clinic. Diagnosed and treated various illnesses with advanced medical knowledge, while keeping patients well-informed with excellent communication skills and empathy.

Experience

East Pennsylvania Clinic/ Physician Assistant/Philadelphia, PA /2017-2022

• Worked well with the lead physician to provide medical treatment to patients.
• Aided physicians with various treatments, including follow-up care. 
• Kept records of the patient’s medical records, including diagnosis, and procedures. 
• Provided first aid and urgent care, including treating injuries 
• Prescribed and recommended medicine to patients

Education

2016 University of Pennsylvania 

MS in Physician Assistant Studies 

• Attained the highest grades in my class in anatomy and physiology and Pharmacology

2009-2013 University of Pennsylvania

BS in Health Assessment 

• Achieved a 3.8 GPA
• Studied courses in Biology, Chemistry, Clinical Medicine, Pharmacology, and more

Skills

Hard Skills:

• Evaluation and Diagnosis
• Patient Care
• Ultrasound
• CPR
• Primary Care
• Urgent Care
• Physical Examination 
• Surgical Assistance 

Soft Skills:

• Written Communication
• Critical Thinking
• Teamwork
• Detail Oriented
• Verbal Communication 
• Active Listening
• Organization
• Reliability
• Confidentiality
• Empathy and Compassion

Certifications

• NCCPA-C Physician Assistant Certification
• NCCPA Certificate of Added Qualifications (CAQ) – Emergency Medicine

Hobbies and Interests

• Learning languages (Spanish and French)
• Listening to medical podcasts

By using our resume templates, you can easily create a resume just like this one that displays your skills, experience, and education in the ideal structure.

Formatting is one of the most important elements of a resume. Not only does it help applicant tracking systems (ATS) find significant information quickly, but it also helps hiring managers get a clearer picture of your skills and experience.

Resume formats can depend on how much or little experience you have as a physician assistant. If you have more than two years of experience, you may favor one type of format over another. 

There are two basic types of resume formats: 

• Reverse chronological 
• Functional

The reverse chronological format would be your preferred format if you have more than a couple of years of real full-time experience as a physician assistant or in a related role. 

There are several ways you can format your PA resume, but we recommend using the reverse chronological format. By using this format, you can showcase your most recent work and accomplishments first. 

If you have at least a couple of years of clinical experience, the best thing to do would be to show it off. Anyone who’s hiring looks for experience first. 

If you don’t have much experience yet, there’s no need to panic. 

The best option for you would be to use a functional format. This type of format highlights your skills and education.

While you may not have as much experience as another candidate, your skills will jump off the page and the ATS or a job recruiter will take note. 

Look up more crucial information on how to decide your resume format to ensure you select the correct one. 

Below are some general rules for formatting before you get started:

• Use bullet points. Instead of paragraphs, list your information in bullet points wherever possible so that information is easy to skim over by both humans and computers. Bullet points will also ensure consistency throughout the document. 
• Make sure all font sizes match. If there’s any inconsistency between fonts or sizes between pages/sections, then this could confuse recruiters who might think their applicant isn’t paying attention to detail
• Ensure there are no grammatical errors. Grammar mistakes can make you look unprofessional, which is never a good thing when applying for jobs. We recommend proofreading your resume at least twice before submitting it to ATS systems.

Your resume objective or summary is a one to three-sentence statement that tells the hiring manager what you are capable of and even what you hope to achieve.

A good way to think about this section is as an elevator pitch. It’s brief and memorable, giving just enough detail so that the rest of your resume makes sense.

This section should also not be written in the third person, but rather first person. This will help present yourself as professional and personal at the same time, which is important because you’re trying to convince someone else that they should hire you.

Just like choosing a format, deciding between a summary and an objective will often have to do with the experience you have. 

You should go with an objective over a summary to catch the manager’s attention if you do not have much experience. Whereas, a summary will boast your past work experience and prior job responsibilities.

Physician Assistant Summary Example

If you are updating your resume and you have experience working as a Physician’s Assistant, you should decide to write a resume summary over an objective. 

As a physician assistant with two or more years of experience, you have a bit of a leg up on other applicants. You can use your summary to take advantage of your past job experience and duties. 

Here are examples of what you should and shouldn’t do when writing your summary.

While this summary is on the right track, it needs more, it seems generic and lacks details. Here is what you should write.

A summary isn’t for a new graduate physician assistant resume, you have the experience and should show it off.

Physician Assistant Objective Example

If you are writing an entry physician assistant resume, the beginning of your resume has a different diagnosis than an experienced physician assistant’s. 

You’ll want to show off your skills and education in a well-written resume objective. Using the right keywords and industry terminology can help, even if you lack work experience. This is because it demonstrates your sector-specific knowledge. 

You should write an objective like the one you see below.

When you are describing your experience, focus on the skills that you used and how they helped the facility or patient. You may want to include:

• The name of the facility where you worked
• Dates of employment
• Your job title(s)
• Any related certifications 

Presenting your latest job first is also recommended. This gives potential employers a better idea of how long you’ve been working in healthcare and what level of responsibility and experience you have already achieved as a physician assistant.

If possible, also try to add some context around what responsibilities were unique to your position as a PA.

For example, if you were responsible for the daily operations of a facility, including specific examples of how you helped to handle the patient’s lab results and paperwork. If you worked directly with patients, focus on how your experience in healthcare has prepared you to work as a PA.

It’s also important to mention any certifications that are relevant to the position you’re applying for (for example, CPR).

Physician Assistant Experience Example

As a physician assistant, your experience is golden. Here, we’ll give you the prescription on how to write the perfect experience section on your resume.

As with all parts of your resume, it’s important to keep your skill section neat and tidy. Using bullet points will go a long way. 

You’ll want to only include relevant skills that demonstrate how well-suited you are for the job at hand.

Start by making sure that each skill is listed in order of importance (i.e., the most significant should be first). 

Your skills should be in line with those you see in the job description, they are what the applicant tracking system and a recruiter will be looking for. Some hard and soft skills you can add to your resume for this role include:

Working in the medical field, practically no one has studied for less than four years. Recruiters and head doctors are looking for the best and brightest. 

While your experience will be essential, the education section will also be key to landing a job. 

In the education section of your resume, include:

• Your university or college name.
• Your GPA (if it’s above 3.50).
• The courses and degrees you received, including pertinent information such as course descriptions and specializations.
• Clinical training
• Certifications 

If you won any awards or special recognition, you should also mention them in this section.

Remember that your resume is the most important tool to help you get an interview for the physician assistant role you are looking for.

You want to make it as simple as possible for someone to read and understand all of your information, so they can decide whether they want to interview you. 

Keeping all the information ready and in an organized manner will get you from going over your resume to going over a patient’s diagnosis.