Are You Paying Your PAs Market Wages?
Get the answer to that question and many more in the 2016 Salary and Call Survey, compiled by JOPA, the JBJS Journal of Orthopaedics for Physician Assistants.
In addition to a US regional breakdown of average base salaries among PAs working in orthopaedics, the 2016 survey contains accurate, trending information from PAs about:
- Hospital versus Private-Practice Salaries
- Trends in Bonuses, Benefits, and Perks
- Workload and Autonomy
- Call Structures and Schedules
- Job Satisfaction
The survey was conducted by email during November and December 2016. JBJS Journal of Orthopaedics for Physician Assistants (JOPA) sent an online survey to 3,056 JOPA subscribers. Three-hundred twenty (320) physician assistants in orthopaedics responded, representing a response rate of 10%. At a 95% confidence level, results are projected at a ±5.5% margin of error.
Fall Issue of JBJS JOPA Now Available
The Fall 2016 JBJS JOPA is now available. To access the new issue, go to the JBJS JOPA website, click on the journal image to the right, and download the PDF. Topics include:
- A Visual Guide to the Salter-Harris Pediatric Fracture Classification System
- Perioperative Pain Management in the Chronic Opioid User
- Radiation Safety for PAs in the Orthopaedic Operating Room
- Recap of the monthly image quizzes, including November’s quiz on Distal Radial Metaphyseal Fractures.
With your JOPA subscription, you receive complimentary access to JBJS Reviews, which delivers new online review articles weekly, with a CME opportunity attached to each article.
Create your account and gain access to these important orthopaedic resources/opportunities:
- Writing/video incentive program for PAs and NPs
- Physician Assistants in Orthopaedics: A Study of Job Satisfaction, Education and Lifestyles, A Research Brief from JBJS JOPA
- A salary and call survey for orthopaedic PAs.
Maximizing Your Non-Physician Practitioners
Physician assistants and nurse practitioners (often referred to as nonphysician practitioners, or NPPs) can be instrumental in helping physician practices speed reimbursements, increase patient satisfaction, and reduce paperwork burdens for doctors. An article on ORTHOPRENEUR, a digital journal, suggests that practices employ the following tips to ensure optimal utilization of these valuable professionals:
- Create accurate job descriptions.
- Research your payer mix and reimbursement rules.
- Coordinate a pre-employment shadowing day before making a formal offer to an NPP.
- Include professional memberships and CME allowance in the offer.
- Market your new NPP just as you would a new physician.
- Provide one-on-one training with physicians during the NPP’s orientation.
- Create patient scheduling policies and protocols for your staff; train the staff on the type of appointments for which NPPs will be utilized.
- Train your NPP on billing and documentation, including coding.
The Changing Role of the Orthopaedic Surgeon
This past fall, JBJS released the results of its annual survey of orthopaedic surgeons, “The Third Annual Role of the Orthopaedic Surgeon Study 2013.” Surgeons surveyed identified 10 ways that orthopaedic practices are changing. Other reported trends included a growth in services offered and staff employed. For example, respondents said they’ve hired more physician assistants, coding specialists, physical therapists, hospitalists, and nurse practitioners over the past 12 months. Also, more orthopaedic practices are adding x-ray, physical therapy, and MRI to their list of services.
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