Career switch, measured
From Dental Assistant to Physician Assistant
Yes, it's a realistic move with some upskilling. Measured across current postings, the two roles have 45% skill overlap. Skills that carry over include Patient care, BLS/CPR, OSHA, HIPAA; the main skills to add are Leadership, Electronic health records, ACLS, Counseling.
45%
skill overlap
224
open Physician Assistant postings read
Skills that carry over
Share of each role’s postings that ask for the skill.
SkillDental AssistantPhysician Assistant
- Patient care75%66%
- BLS/CPR29%53%
- OSHA43%20%
- HIPAA38%18%
- Regulatory compliance59%26%
- Customer service33%12%
- Communication19%11%
- Scheduling8%8%
Skills to add
Asked for often in Physician Assistant postings, rarely in Dental Assistant ones.
SkillDental AssistantPhysician Assistant
- Leadership–45%
- Electronic health records–33%
- ACLS–32%
- Counseling–30%
- Research–29%
- Training and coaching–24%
- Problem solving–17%
- Microsoft Office–17%
Plan your move to Physician Assistant
The Career Gap Analyzer compares your own resume with Physician Assistant jobs and lays out the skills to close, free.