Healthcare Recruiting
Louisiana PA License 2026: Physician Assistant Requirements, Supervision, and Salary
Louisiana physician assistants are licensed by the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners (LSBME). The state requires a Board-approved supervision agreement with a licensed Louisiana physician before PA practice may begin. Louisiana's healthcare market is centered on New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Shreveport, with a distinctive occupational medicine layer driven by the Gulf Coast oil, gas, and petrochemical industry — a setting where PA demand is persistent and compensation is often above the standard hospital tier.
Practice Model: Supervision Required
Louisiana PAs must have an LSBME-approved written supervision agreement. The agreement must specify scope of practice, prescriptive authority, and the supervising physician's availability. Changes to practice scope require LSBME notification or amendment.
- Supervision agreement: Required and LSBME-approved before practice
- Prescriptive authority: Schedule II–V with DEA registration under the supervision agreement
- Occupational medicine: Offshore and refinery PA roles frequently use separate supervision agreements with industrial medical directors
Application Requirements
- Active NCCPA certification
- Graduation from ARC-PA accredited program
- LSBME application and ~$185 fee
- LSBME-approved supervision agreement
- Background check
- DEA registration (separate, $888 fee)
Processing Timeline
The LSBME processes complete PA applications in 6–8 weeks. Supervision agreement review adds 1–2 weeks. Total time to practice-ready: approximately 8–10 weeks.
PA Salary in Louisiana (2026)
| Setting | Median Base | Typical Sign-On |
|---|---|---|
| Hospital / Inpatient | $118,000 | $5,000–$15,000 |
| Surgical First-Assist | $128,000 | $8,000–$18,000 |
| Emergency Medicine | $125,000 | $5,000–$15,000 |
| Occupational Medicine (Oil and Gas) | $130,000–$150,000 | $10,000–$20,000 |
| Primary Care / Outpatient | $110,000 | $5,000–$12,000 |
Top PA Employers in Louisiana
Ochsner Health System (New Orleans and statewide — the state's largest private employer) recruits broadly for hospital medicine, surgical, and specialty PA roles. LSU Health Sciences (New Orleans and Shreveport campuses) provides the academic and teaching hospital PA market. Tulane Medical Center (New Orleans) rounds out the academic tier. CHRISTUS Health (Shreveport, Alexandria) anchors north-central Louisiana. Lane Regional Medical Center and rural critical access hospitals in Cajun Country carry NHSC-eligible designations. The offshore and coastal petrochemical industry creates an occupational medicine PA niche — companies including Shell, ExxonMobil, and Entergy contract with PA-staffed occupational health clinics along the Mississippi River Industrial Corridor (Baton Rouge to New Orleans).
What We See at Ava Health
Louisiana's occupational medicine PA market is one of the most distinctive in the country — offshore platform medic roles and refinery occupational health positions offer compensation above standard hospital tiers with structured scheduling. For PA candidates interested in this niche, Louisiana is a natural fit. The supervision agreement process through the LSBME is the standard hiring bottleneck; large systems like Ochsner have standardized agreements but smaller practices may require 3–4 weeks to finalize.
Related: NP License Louisiana 2026, PA Salary by State 2026, Healthcare Recruiting in Louisiana 2026.
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