Physician Assistant Job Interview Questions to Ask Employer
Twenty questions to ask when you interview for a physician assistant job: your scope and which procedures you would perform, how supervision and chart review work, patient volume and slot length, how pay is calculated, what the malpractice policy covers, and what a non-compete would restrict.
The questions
Open any question for the note
What would my scope of practice be here, and which procedures would I be doing myself?
Why ask it
State law sets the outer limit, but the practice sets what happens in the room. Ask for a list of procedures, since a role described as full scope can still mean every laceration goes to the physician.
Who would be my supervising physician, and are they on site while I am working?
Why ask it
On site, in the building, and reachable by phone are three different working conditions. If supervision is remote for part of the week, ask what you are expected to do with a patient you would rather not manage alone.
How does chart review and co-signature work, and what proportion of my notes get reviewed?
Why ask it
Review is either a real feedback channel or a signature applied in batches at the end of the month. Ask whether anyone has ever changed a plan after reading your note, since that is what tells you which version this is.
How many patients would I see in a day, and how long is a slot?
Why ask it
Volume alone means little without the slot length and the documentation expectation. Twenty patients in fifteen-minute slots with no scribe is a very different job from twenty in half-hour slots.
What is the patient population, and what are the five most common presentations?
Why ask it
The five most common cases are the job, whatever the specialty is called. If the interviewer cannot name them quickly, they may be describing the practice they want rather than the one you would join.
Would I have my own panel of patients, or work from a shared schedule?
Why ask it
A panel builds continuity and a reputation you can carry; a shared schedule fills gaps and is easier to reassign. It also affects productivity pay, since credit for a shared visit is not always straightforward.
How is call covered, and how often would I be on it?
Why ask it
Ask for the rotation as a fraction and the volume of calls on an average night. Unpaid call is common enough that it is worth confirming whether it is compensated, banked as time off, or simply expected.
What do the first three months look like, and does patient volume ramp up?
Why ask it
New graduates put at full volume in week one tend to leave within the year. A defined ramp, with reduced numbers and a named person to ask, is one of the strongest signals a practice has trained PAs before.
Am I expected to see the same complexity as the physicians, or is there a triage rule?
Why ask it
Practices often say PAs and physicians see the same patients while front desk staff quietly sort by acuity, or do not sort at all. Ask what happens when a complex patient is booked into your slot.
Which records system do you use, and how much charting do people finish after clinic?
Why ask it
Unpaid evening documentation is the hidden hour in most clinical jobs. The answer to the second half is usually honest, because everyone in the building knows the number.
Is the pay salary, productivity-based, or a mix, and what did someone in this role actually earn last year?
Why ask it
A productivity formula tells you little without a real figure beside it. Ask what the person in the post earned rather than what the range allows, since the ceiling of a bonus scheme is rarely reached.
Who carries the malpractice policy, is it occurrence or claims-made, and is tail coverage included?
Why ask it
Claims-made policies leave you exposed for care given here once you leave unless tail coverage is bought. That cost lands on you if nobody raises it now, and it is not small.
What continuing education time and funding is provided, and are license and DEA fees covered?
Why ask it
Recertification, state license and DEA registration are recurring costs, and paid days to attend courses matter as much as the money. Employers who cover both treat credentials as their expense rather than yours.
Is there a non-compete, and what would it cover in distance and duration?
Why ask it
A radius drawn around several sites can put an entire metro area out of reach for two years. Ask to see the wording before you accept, because this is the clause most likely to constrain your next job rather than this one.
Do PAs here have a say in scheduling and staffing decisions?
Why ask it
This distinguishes practices where PAs are colleagues from those where they are capacity. A concrete example, a schedule change PAs asked for and got, is worth more than a statement about being valued.
Has a PA left this practice in the past two years, and do you know why?
Why ask it
Turnover in your own role is the most relevant number in the building. Where they went matters too: a departure to a specialty fellowship reads differently from a departure to a competitor down the road.
What happens when I disagree with a physician about a patient's management?
Why ask it
Every clinician faces this. What you want to hear is a route, a conversation, a second opinion, an escalation, rather than an assurance that it does not happen, which usually means it happens silently.
Is there room to build a focus here, whether that is procedures, a clinic of my own, or precepting students?
Why ask it
PA roles can stay identical for a decade unless something is built deliberately. Ask what the last person who wanted to specialize actually did, and whether protected time came with it.
What is the hardest part of this job that I would only find out after starting?
Why ask it
Interviewers often answer this candidly because it is framed as a warning. Expect something structural: a difficult referral pathway, one understaffed afternoon, a records system nobody likes.
What would you want the person in this role to be doing well at the one-year review?
Why ask it
The answer is the real job description, and it is the standard you will be measured against. If it comes back vague, ask what the review form actually contains, since a documented answer exists somewhere.
Assessing a PA Post and Its Contract
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before the Interview
Read your state's supervision rules first
Requirements for chart review, prescribing and physician availability differ substantially between states, and some practices describe a scope their state does not permit. Knowing the rules lets you tell the difference between a generous employer and one that has not checked.
Ask to shadow for half a day
A morning in the clinic shows you slot length, whether the schedule runs late, how the front desk sorts patients, and how the physicians speak to the PAs. Practices confident in their setup usually agree readily.
Write your own limits down first
Patients per day, call frequency, minimum salary, maximum commute, and the non-compete you will not sign. Candidates who skip this end up weighing how welcome they felt rather than whether the job is one they can do for three years.
Reading the Contract
- Ask for the written offer and the employment agreement together. Terms discussed warmly in an interview are only enforceable in the version you sign.
- Check the malpractice section for occurrence versus claims-made, and for who pays tail coverage if you leave. This single clause can be worth more than a salary difference.
- Read the non-compete for radius, duration, and whether it is drawn around every site the employer owns. Ask for it to be narrowed to the site you actually work at.
- Look for how termination works on both sides, including notice period and whether without-cause termination exists. Symmetry here tells you something about the employer.
- Confirm how productivity credit is attributed when you see a physician's patient or a shared visit. Formulas that look generous often exclude exactly this work.
- Have a health care attorney review anything you do not understand. One flat fee against a two-year restriction is straightforward arithmetic.
Signals Worth Noticing
- Whether you met the supervising physician at all. Accepting a job without meeting the person who signs your charts is a common regret.
- How the practice talks about the PAs already there: by name and role, or as coverage. It predicts how your schedule will be treated.
- Whether anyone mentioned the ramp-up unprompted. Practices that have trained new PAs bring it up themselves.
- How quickly they need an answer. Pressure to decide within a day usually accompanies a vacancy someone is desperate to fill.
- Whether the answers about volume and charting match what you saw while shadowing. If they differ, believe what you saw.
- Whether the physicians were still in the building at the end of clinic. It tells you what the evening looks like for everyone, including you.