Connecting PAs with Healthcare Careers Across the Sooner State. This page is maintained by Blake Moser, founder of Advanced Practice Recruiters in Tyler, Texas. APR places physician assistants exclusively — surgical, primary care, hospitalist, EM, dermatology, orthopedic, and procedural specialties. Below is what you need to evaluate the Oklahoma PA market: salary ranges, the supervision framework, where active hiring is concentrated, and how the search actually runs.
Oklahoma offers physician assistants a growing healthcare market with strong opportunities in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, as well as significant needs in rural communities throughout the state. The Sooner State's healthcare sector is anchored by the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City, a major academic medical institution providing PA opportunities at a sophisticated clinical level.
Major health systems including INTEGRIS Health, Mercy Health, and Hillcrest HealthCare System provide PA employment opportunities across specialties and settings throughout Oklahoma. The state's oil and gas industry has historically driven a strong regional economy, supporting investment in healthcare infrastructure.
Oklahoma operates under a supervision model for physician assistants, requiring a supervising physician relationship. The state has significant rural healthcare needs, particularly in its western and southeastern regions, where PAs serve as essential healthcare providers for communities with limited physician access. Oklahoma's low cost of living, friendly communities, and strong regional identity make it a welcoming place to build a PA career.
PA base salaries in our Oklahoma searches cluster around $110K, with most offers landing between $95K and $130K. Total compensation typically runs 10–25% above base once productivity bonuses, call pay, sign-on, relocation, CME, malpractice, and retirement match are included. Cost of living in Oklahoma sits below national average — material for translating an offer into actual purchasing power.
The factors that move offers most: subspecialty (surgical first-assist, neurosurgery, cardiovascular, EM, dermatology, and orthopedic spine/sports run at the top end), post-certification experience, the supervision model described below, urban-versus-rural placement, employer model (academic system, private group, hospital employment, FQHC, telehealth), wRVU structure, call frequency, and any NCCPA Certificate of Added Qualification (CAQ).
Reference data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Physician Assistants (OOH) publishes the national mean wage and Oklahoma state-area estimates; AAPA Compensation Resources and the NCCPA Statistical Profile track specialty and credentialing breakdowns.
Supervision model: Required Supervision. Oklahoma requires direct physician supervision for physician assistants. PAs must maintain a written supervision agreement, may face a ratio cap per supervising physician, and may have additional limits on prescribing Schedule II–V controlled substances or signing certain orders. The hiring conversation usually centers on supervisor bandwidth, ratio room, and which procedures need cosignature.
Oklahoma PAs are licensed by the Oklahoma Medical Board. A supervision agreement with a licensed Oklahoma physician is required. PAs can prescribe medications including controlled substances within their supervision agreement. NCCPA certification must be maintained for licensure renewal.
The metros and regions where we are most often opening PA searches:
Recurring employer relationships in Oklahoma include OU Health, INTEGRIS Health, Mercy Health Oklahoma, Hillcrest HealthCare System, OSU Medical Center, Norman Regional Health System, plus a long tail of regional health systems, surgical and dermatology groups, orthopedic private practices, urgent-care networks, FQHCs, and telehealth platforms credentialed in Oklahoma. Procedural and surgical PA roles tend to pay above the state average; rural and Critical Access roles often carry a sign-on or geographic premium.
Every search opens with a 20-minute call to nail down the role: scope, NCCPA certification + any CAQ, procedural case mix, supervision arrangement under Oklahoma law, geographic flexibility within the state, and the realistic compensation envelope. From there we work the active and passive PA pool — verifying PA-C status with NCCPA, Oklahoma licensure (or licensure-eligibility), DEA, malpractice history, and recent procedural logs for surgical or interventional roles — and present a screened shortlist within a few business days.
The engagement is contingent — no upfront fee and no exclusivity required. Permanent placements carry a written replacement guarantee covering the initial employment period; if the placed PA leaves inside the guarantee window we re-run the search at no additional fee.
Demand pressure in Oklahoma is currently high. Nationally, the BLS projects physician assistant employment to grow roughly 28% between 2023 and 2033 — far above the average for all occupations. Oklahoma's low cost of living, strong regional university health systems, and significant rural healthcare needs create meaningful and financially rewarding PA career opportunities across the state.
Physician assistants in Oklahoma earn an average salary of approximately $110,000 per year, with ranges between $95,000 and $130,000. Oklahoma City and Tulsa positions offer the highest salaries. Oklahoma's cost of living is significantly below the national average, particularly for housing, making PA compensation highly impactful in terms of real purchasing power.
To practice in Oklahoma, PAs must hold NCCPA certification, obtain licensure from the Oklahoma Medical Board, and establish a supervision agreement with a licensed Oklahoma physician. The agreement outlines the scope of the PA's practice and prescriptive authority. Continuing medical education must be completed for biennial license renewal. DEA registration is required for controlled substance prescribing.
Yes, rural Oklahoma has significant PA opportunities, particularly in the western and southeastern parts of the state. Many Oklahoma communities are federally designated Health Professional Shortage Areas, qualifying PAs for National Health Service Corps loan repayment. Critical access hospitals and rural health clinics actively recruit PAs with competitive incentive packages including signing bonuses and relocation assistance.
High-demand PA specialties in Oklahoma include family medicine, emergency medicine, orthopedic surgery, general surgery, and cardiology. OU Health and OSU Medical Center recruit academic specialty PAs. Rural Oklahoma has strong demand for primary care PAs who can manage a broad scope of conditions. The state's Native American tribal health programs also provide unique PA employment opportunities.
Reach Blake Moser at Advanced Practice Recruiters: 469-457-4570 or blake@advancedpracticerecruiters.com. Most inquiries get a same-business-day reply.
Related: PA recruiting (national) · 2026 PA Salary Guide · PA supervision by state · NP recruiters in Oklahoma