Effective Work Sample Exercises for Hiring Top Physician Assistants

Physician Assistants serve as critical members of modern healthcare teams, providing essential medical care under physician supervision while maintaining significant autonomy in patient management. The quality of your PA hires directly impacts patient outcomes, team efficiency, and overall care quality. Traditional interviews alone often fail to reveal a candidate's true clinical abilities, communication skills, and decision-making processes under pressure.

Work sample exercises provide a window into how candidates will actually perform in real clinical scenarios. By observing PAs in action through structured simulations, you can assess their clinical reasoning, patient interaction skills, and ability to collaborate with the healthcare team. These exercises reveal competencies that might otherwise remain hidden in traditional question-and-answer formats.

For Physician Assistant candidates, practical assessments are particularly valuable because they demonstrate the integration of medical knowledge with interpersonal skills. A candidate might articulate textbook-perfect answers about treatment protocols but struggle with explaining complex concepts to patients or collaborating effectively with colleagues.

The following work samples are designed to evaluate the essential competencies identified for successful Physician Assistants: clinical expertise, patient-centered care, effective communication, collaboration, and adaptability. By incorporating these exercises into your hiring process, you'll gain deeper insights into each candidate's capabilities and fit for your healthcare organization.

Activity #1: Mock Patient Consultation

This exercise simulates a core responsibility of Physician Assistants: conducting patient consultations that include history-taking, assessment, and treatment planning. It evaluates clinical reasoning, communication skills, and patient-centered care approach simultaneously.

Directions for the Company:

• Prepare a detailed patient case scenario with relevant medical history, current symptoms, and vital signs. Include lab results or imaging findings if appropriate.
• Arrange for a staff member to role-play as the patient, with clear instructions on symptoms to report and questions to ask.
• Provide the candidate with basic information about the patient (age, chief complaint, vital signs) 10 minutes before the exercise.
• Allocate 15-20 minutes for the consultation and 5-10 minutes for the candidate to present their assessment and plan.
• Prepare a standardized evaluation form focusing on history-taking thoroughness, physical exam technique description, differential diagnosis development, and treatment plan appropriateness.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the provided patient information and prepare for a consultation.
• Conduct a thorough history and describe what physical examination elements you would perform (no actual physical examination will be conducted).
• Develop a differential diagnosis based on the information gathered.
• Create an assessment and plan, including any diagnostic tests you would order and initial treatment recommendations.
• Present your findings and plan to the interviewer as you would to a supervising physician.

Feedback Mechanism:

• After the exercise, provide specific feedback on one strength demonstrated (e.g., "Your thorough questioning about medication history revealed important information") and one area for improvement (e.g., "Consider prioritizing the differential diagnosis based on clinical likelihood").
• Ask the candidate to revise their assessment and plan based on the feedback, allowing 5 minutes for this adjustment.
• Observe how receptively they incorporate feedback, which demonstrates adaptability and coachability.

Activity #2: Clinical Case Analysis and Presentation

This exercise evaluates a candidate's clinical reasoning, evidence-based decision-making, and ability to communicate medical information clearly to colleagues.

Directions for the Company:

• Develop 2-3 complex but realistic patient cases relevant to your practice setting (e.g., management of uncontrolled diabetes, evaluation of chest pain, or workup of unexplained weight loss).
• Include patient history, physical exam findings, laboratory results, and imaging studies as appropriate.
• Provide the candidate with the case materials 30 minutes before their presentation.
• Prepare questions that probe the candidate's reasoning behind their diagnostic and treatment decisions.
• Create an evaluation rubric that assesses clinical knowledge, evidence-based practice, and presentation clarity.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the provided case materials thoroughly.
• Develop a comprehensive assessment including:
• Interpretation of the clinical data
• Prioritized differential diagnosis
• Recommended additional diagnostic testing (if needed)
• Evidence-based treatment plan
• Patient education points
• Follow-up recommendations
• Prepare a 10-minute presentation of your analysis as if presenting to a medical team.
• Be prepared to answer questions about your clinical reasoning and alternative approaches.

Feedback Mechanism:

• Provide specific feedback on the strength of the clinical reasoning demonstrated and the clarity of the presentation.
• Identify one area where the assessment or plan could be improved or where additional considerations should be included.
• Ask the candidate to revise that specific portion of their plan, allowing them 5 minutes to reconsider and present their adjusted approach.
• Evaluate their ability to incorporate new perspectives and defend their clinical decisions with evidence.

Activity #3: Collaborative Care Planning Exercise

This exercise assesses the candidate's ability to work effectively within a healthcare team, a critical skill for Physician Assistants who must coordinate care with physicians, nurses, and other providers.

Directions for the Company:

• Create a scenario involving a complex patient requiring multidisciplinary care (e.g., an elderly patient with multiple comorbidities being discharged from the hospital).
• Prepare role players to represent different healthcare team members (e.g., physician, nurse, social worker, physical therapist).
• Provide the candidate with the patient's medical information and current status 15 minutes before the exercise.
• Develop an evaluation form that focuses on team communication, respect for other disciplines' input, and care coordination skills.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the patient information provided.
• Lead a 15-minute care planning meeting with the multidisciplinary team.
• Your objectives are to:
• Ensure all team members understand the patient's current medical status
• Elicit input from each discipline regarding their assessment and recommendations
• Identify potential barriers to care and solutions
• Develop a comprehensive care plan that incorporates all relevant perspectives
• Clearly define follow-up responsibilities
• Document the key elements of the care plan as you would in a medical record.

Feedback Mechanism:

• Provide feedback on how effectively the candidate facilitated team input and integrated diverse perspectives into the care plan.
• Identify one aspect of team communication or care coordination that could be improved.
• Ask the candidate to demonstrate how they would address this specific aspect differently, allowing 5 minutes for them to explain their adjusted approach.
• Evaluate their receptiveness to feedback and ability to adapt their collaborative style.

Activity #4: Patient Education and Difficult Conversation Simulation

This exercise evaluates the candidate's communication skills, particularly their ability to explain complex medical information clearly and handle challenging patient interactions with empathy and professionalism.

Directions for the Company:

• Develop a scenario requiring difficult patient communication, such as:
• Explaining a new serious diagnosis
• Discussing medication non-adherence
• Addressing unrealistic treatment expectations
• Navigating a patient's refusal of recommended care
• Prepare a staff member to role-play as the patient or family member, with specific instructions on concerns to raise and emotional responses to display.
• Create an evaluation rubric focusing on communication clarity, empathy, listening skills, and problem-solving approach.

Directions for the Candidate:

• Review the provided scenario information.
• Conduct a 15-minute conversation with the patient/family member.
• Your goals are to:
• Explain medical information in clear, accessible language
• Demonstrate empathy and active listening
• Address concerns and questions effectively
• Reach a shared understanding or plan when possible
• Document the key points discussed and plan moving forward
• Be prepared to adapt your approach based on the patient's responses and emotional state.

Feedback Mechanism:

• Provide specific feedback on communication strengths demonstrated (e.g., use of teach-back method, empathetic responses) and one area for improvement (e.g., avoiding medical jargon, addressing emotional cues).
• Ask the candidate to re-approach a specific portion of the conversation incorporating this feedback.
• Observe how they adjust their communication style and whether they maintain authenticity while implementing the suggested improvement.
• This feedback loop assesses both communication skills and adaptability.

Frequently Asked Questions

How should we adapt these exercises for different specialties or practice settings?

Customize the patient cases and scenarios to reflect the specific patient population and conditions commonly encountered in your practice. For example, a PA position in orthopedics should include musculoskeletal cases, while a primary care role might focus more on chronic disease management and preventive care.

What if we don't have staff available to role-play as patients?

Consider using standardized patients if available in your area (often through partnerships with PA or medical schools), or have another interviewer play the patient role using a detailed script. In some cases, providing a written case with video recordings of "patient" statements can serve as an alternative.

How do we evaluate candidates fairly and consistently across these exercises?

Develop standardized evaluation rubrics for each exercise with specific criteria aligned with the competencies you're assessing. Have the same evaluators observe all candidates for a particular exercise whenever possible, and conduct calibration sessions with your interview team to ensure consistent standards.

Should we share these exercises with candidates in advance?

Provide general information about the types of exercises they'll encounter (e.g., "You'll be asked to conduct a patient consultation") but not the specific cases or scenarios. This allows candidates to prepare mentally for the format while still assessing their actual clinical abilities rather than rehearsed responses.

How much weight should we give these work samples compared to traditional interviews?

Work samples often provide the most predictive information about future job performance, so they should be weighted significantly in your evaluation process. However, they should complement rather than replace structured behavioral interviews, which provide insights into past performance and cultural fit.

Can these exercises be conducted virtually for remote interviews?

Yes, all of these exercises can be adapted for virtual settings using video conferencing platforms. For the collaborative exercise, use breakout rooms or scheduled sequential meetings. Provide any written materials electronically in advance, and consider using screen sharing for case presentations.

The hiring process for Physician Assistants deserves the same level of care and precision that PAs bring to patient care. By incorporating these work sample exercises, you'll gain deeper insights into candidates' clinical abilities, communication skills, and teamwork capabilities—all essential elements for success in this critical healthcare role.

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