A Physician Assistant (PA) is a licensed clinician who practices medicine across various specialties and settings, including hospitals, clinics, and surgical environments. PAs undergo rigorous, master’s-level education, with training modeled after the medical school curriculum. While their role is defined by their scope of practice under the supervision of a physician, their daily attire is not standardized. There is no single, nationally mandated scrub color that all PAs must wear.
The Lack of a Universal Standard
The color of a Physician Assistant’s scrub uniform is not determined by a national professional organization or federal mandate. Instead, the decision rests entirely with the individual healthcare employer, such as a large hospital system, private practice, or urgent care center. Every facility sets its own specific dress code policy, meaning a PA’s scrub color can change completely if they move to a new system.
This variance is purely a logistical and organizational choice intended to bring order to the workplace. The facility’s administration determines the color scheme based on internal needs, patient flow, and branding considerations, rather than any professional requirement for the PA role. Consequently, the same shade of blue worn by a PA at one hospital might be the designated color for a Registered Nurse or a Medical Assistant at another facility.
Common Scrub Colors Worn by Physician Assistants
Physician Assistants are frequently assigned colors that align them with other advanced practice providers or the supervising physician’s team. Darker colors are the most common, as they convey professionalism and authority while also being practical for clinical work. Navy Blue and Royal Blue are frequently encountered colors for PAs, often mirroring the designated color for attending physicians in many hospital systems.
Other prevalent colors include Burgundy, Hunter Green, or neutral shades such as Black or Gray. In specialized settings, such as the operating room, PAs assisting in surgery wear the facility-provided light blue or green surgical scrubs, the same color worn by the entire operative team. In large institutions, the PA’s assigned color visually groups them with other providers who possess a similar scope of practice, distinguishing them from medical support staff.
The Purpose of Healthcare Color Coding Systems
Color coding is an organizational strategy employed by healthcare facilities to enhance operational efficiency and patient safety. By assigning distinct colors to different job roles, the system creates a rapid visual cue that allows staff, patients, and visitors to quickly identify roles. This structured approach prevents confusion and saves time when a specific professional, such as a respiratory therapist or an imaging technician, is needed.
For a Physician Assistant, their scrub color is chosen to clearly separate them from high-volume roles like Registered Nurses or Certified Nursing Assistants. For example, a hospital might assign Royal Blue to its RN staff and Navy Blue to its PAs and physicians, creating a clear visual hierarchy of roles. This distinction ensures that patients seeking a provider with diagnostic and prescribing authority can readily locate the correct individual.
Identifying Physician Assistants Beyond Scrub Color
Since the PA scrub color is a variable identifier, the definitive method for confirming their role relies on official credentials. Healthcare facilities require all personnel to wear an identification badge while on duty, which is the most reliable tool for role verification. The ID badge clearly displays the individual’s name, their full professional title, such as “Physician Assistant, Certified,” and the facility’s logo.
Many PAs also wear a white lab coat over their scrubs, which serves as a traditional symbol of a medical provider. This lab coat is often embroidered with their name and the legally required title, “Physician Assistant, Certified,” denoted by the PA-C credential. The combination of the ID badge and the lab coat provides a definitive method for patients and colleagues to confirm the PA’s identity and scope of practice.