Your steps to apply
Physician Assistant – PACT – Primary Care (Martinez)
Veterans Health Administration · Martinez, California · Closes in 56 days
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1 Check you can apply You are here
Who can apply: The public.
The job is open to the public, but applicants must be U.S. citizens, nationals, or people who owe allegiance to the U.S. Non-citizens may be appointed only when qualified citizens cannot be recruited. Veterans' preference applies when qualifications are about equal.
Experience: The basic requirement is a master's degree, or a bachelor's degree plus 1 year of experience as a Physician Assistant (PA). Grade 1 (PA-I) needs no experience beyond the basic requirements, grade 2 (PA-II) needs 2 years of successful practice as a PA, and grade 3 (PA-III) needs 3 years of successful practice as a PA.
Education: A master's degree in any field, or a bachelor's degree in any field plus 1 year of PA experience, meets the basic education requirement. For PA-II, a PA post-graduate residency or a doctoral degree in a health-related field can be used instead of 2 years of PA practice. For PA-III, a residency or doctoral degree plus 1 year of PA practice can be used. Schools must be accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Licenses and certifications:
- Passed the PA National Certifying Exam (PANCE), or currently in the process of taking it
- Full and unrestricted state, territory, or D.C. license to practice as a PA, held now or before hire
- Maintain Physician Assistant certification throughout employment
Experience can be paid or unpaid, volunteer work included: if it matches the duties, it counts. The full rules are in the announcement.
2 Resume and documents
Write a federal resume for this job. For each job you held, give the month and year you started and ended, your hours per week and what you did, using the words of the experience the announcement asks for. Many announcements accept resumes of up to 2 pages: check this one.
3 Apply on USAJOBS
Closes in 56 days (December 29, until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time).
Applications are referred on cut-off dates, the first being November 5, 2026, and then every 2 weeks, so applications received after a cut-off are considered later as vacancies become available.
You sign in to USAJOBS with a Login.gov account, answer the questionnaire and upload your documents, then you submit. Answer the questionnaire honestly: your resume must show what you claim.
How they rate you: You will be rated on how well you meet the qualifications, based on your questionnaire, resume, CV and documents, which will be verified. Errors or missing required information may result in an ineligible rating or a lower overall rating.
4 After you apply
In USAJOBS, under Applications, you can see where your application stands: received, reviewed, referred to the hiring manager or not, then selected or not. It can take a few weeks.
For the interview, prepare three examples with the STAR method: the Situation, the Task, what you did (Action) and the Result.
If they choose you: a tentative offer, then a background check, then the final offer with your start date.
Tips for this job:
- Describe your PA experience clearly, with dates and duties, because the agency will not assume anything about your experience.
- If you use school to qualify, send transcripts only from accredited schools.
- You can apply while still taking the PANCE or waiting on your license, but you cannot be hired until those requirements are met.
Kandidatu is an independent website: only the official posting counts. Read it before you apply.