Should I list soft skills on a Physician Assistant resume?

Yes, but prove them rather than list them. 12 of the top 40 skills in these postings are soft skills, led by Communication (48 % of postings). Show them through results in your bullets, for example a project you coordinated or a process you explained.

Which tools and certifications do Physician Assistant postings ask for?

The tools and certifications named most often were EHR (45 %), DEA registration (28 %), Board certified (24 %), BLS (20 %), State license (18 %) and CPR (16 %). List the ones you have exactly as the posting writes them.

Where does this data come from?

From 141 public Physician Assistant job postings at 51 employers, collected on October 23, 2026 from Greenhouse (109), Lever (22) and Ashby (10). A skill's share is the number of postings that mention it divided by 141. The data is updated quarterly and can be downloaded as a CSV.

Physician Assistant resume skills and keywords

In 141 Physician Assistant job postings from 51 employers analysed on October 23, 2026, the most requested skills are Patient care (65 %), Communication (48 %), EHR (45 %), Collaboration (33 %) and Compassion (32 %). Of the top 40 skills, 28 are hard skills, tools or certifications and 12 are soft skills.

Download the full list as a CSV or check your own resume against a posting with the free keyword scanner.

Top 40 skills in Physician Assistant job postings

Skills requested in 141 Physician Assistant job postings, by share of postings
Skill	Share of postings	Type
Patient care	65 %	Hard skill
Communication	48 %	Soft skill
EHR	45 %	Tool
Collaboration	33 %	Soft skill
Compassion	32 %	Soft skill
Patient-Centered Care	29 %	Hard skill
Leadership	28 %	Soft skill
DEA registration	28 %	Certification
Board certified	24 %	Certification
Behavioral health	22 %	Hard skill
BLS	20 %	Certification
Mentoring	19 %	Soft skill
Flexibility	18 %	Soft skill
State license	18 %	Certification
CPR	16 %	Certification
Continuous learning	15 %	Hard skill
Interpersonal skills	13 %	Soft skill
Driver license	13 %	Certification
Clinical Research	11 %	Hard skill
Wound care	11 %	Hard skill
Preventive Care	11 %	Hard skill
Charting	11 %	Hard skill
Administrative Support	10 %	Hard skill
Customer service	10 %	Soft skill
OSHA	10 %	Certification
Telehealth	9 %	Hard skill
Composition	9 %	Hard skill
HIPAA	8 %	Certification
ACLS	8 %	Certification
Compassionate Care	8 %	Hard skill
Counseling	8 %	Hard skill
Coaching	7 %	Soft skill
Decision making	7 %	Soft skill
Medication Management	7 %	Hard skill
Infection control	7 %	Hard skill
Problem Solving	6 %	Soft skill
Attention to detail	6 %	Soft skill
Chronic Disease Management	6 %	Hard skill
Pediatric	6 %	Hard skill
Patient assessment	6 %	Hard skill

Hard skills vs soft skills vs tools and certifications

Hard skills (18)

Patient care 65 %
Patient-Centered Care 29 %
Behavioral health 22 %
Continuous learning 15 %
Clinical Research 11 %
Wound care 11 %
Preventive Care 11 %
Charting 11 %
Administrative Support 10 %
Telehealth 9 %
Composition 9 %
Compassionate Care 8 %
Counseling 8 %
Medication Management 7 %
Infection control 7 %
Chronic Disease Management 6 %
Pediatric 6 %
Patient assessment 6 %

Tools and software (1)

EHR 45 %

Certifications and licenses (9)

DEA registration 28 %
Board certified 24 %
BLS 20 %
State license 18 %
CPR 16 %
Driver license 13 %
OSHA 10 %
HIPAA 8 %
ACLS 8 %

Keyword phrases recruiters use

Multi-word phrases that recur across these physician assistant postings, with the share of postings that use each one.

nurse practitioner 49 %primary care 46 %treatment plans 38 %physical examinations 33 %quality care 31 %health care 26 %quality patient 23 %advanced practice 22 %prescribe medications 22 %practice providers 20 %diagnostic tests 20 %care services 20 %exceptional care 18 %urgent care 17 %chronic care 16 %

How to use this on your resume

Treat the table as a checklist, not a script. Put the skills you genuinely have in your skills section, using the same wording as the posting, and back the top ones with a bullet that shows the result.

Each job posting differs from the average, so compare your resume with the actual ad: paste it into the resume keyword scanner to see which terms you already have and which are missing. The ATS keywords guide explains where to place them so applicant tracking systems read them.

Skip any skill you cannot talk about in an interview; a keyword that falls apart under one question costs more than it gains. For a full layout with these skills in context, see the Physician Assistant resume example. Then prepare for the Physician Assistant interview questions that test them.

Build a physician assistant resume with these skills

Start in the editor, tailor your bullets to the job you want and download an ATS-friendly resume.

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