How Much Do Surgical Physicians Assistants Make?

Video Transcript

"Hello, my name is Dr. David Cathcart, and I'm from Heartland Regional Medical Center, in St. Joseph, Missouri. Surgical physicians assistants, these are actually referred to as surgical technicians, and these folk would help in the operating room, by either holding retractors, or assisting the physician, or assisting the surgeon in the details of the surgery. For example, he may have to hold something, he can hold a clamp or a retractor, or maybe even a body part. A surgical physician's assistant, is a person who helps a surgeon in the operating room. These people require a, usually an associate degree, which is up to about a two year program. Some of these programs only last as short as nine months after high school, but most of them will go up to about two years, and then they'll make on average, about thirty eight to forty thousand a year, on average, as a surgical technology, or surgical technologist, or surgical assistant. That's not to be confused with physician's assistant, which is actually a person who studies very much the same types of things as a physician does, and can operate and act as, very much like a physician, very similar to what's called a nurse practitioner, or advanced practice nurse, but a physician's assistant is a different field than the type of physician's assistant who would be working in the operating room, which is actually referred to as a surgical assistant, or surgical technologist. Thanks for taking this time to explore medical careers with me. Again, I'm Dr. David Cathcart, with Heartland Regional Medical Center, in St. Joseph, Missouri."