Number of physician assistant programs increases

Health Care Financing Review, Fall, 1994

There are now 59 accredited physician assistant (PA) programs in the United States and through the Armed Forces, and approximately a dozen more are expected to receive national accreditation within the next 2 to 3 years. About 30 colleges and universities are in various stages of studying or starting additional PA programs.

A major reason for the elevated interest in starting new programs is that demand for PAs greatly exceeds supply. In 1993, there were approximately six job offers for every PA graduate, and the U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) projects that the number of PA jobs will grow faster than the national average for all professions.

DoL has predicted a 36-percent increase in PA jobs from 1992 through 2005, compared with a projected 22-percent national employment growth. Likewise, the number of applicants to get into the existing PA programs exceeds the number of openings. Program directors reported in 1992 that there were from 6 to 10 applications for every seat.

The latest program to be accredited is the Nova Southeastern University Physician Assistant Program in North Miami Beach, Florida. Accredited PA programs are located in 28 States plus the District of Columbia. One-half of the programs expected to receive accreditation in the near future are located in six States without existing accredited programs.

Graduation from an accredited program is a prerequisite for Pas who want to be nationally certified. Forty-eight of the 49 States that recognize PA practice require Pas to pass the national certification exam for their profession.

The typical PA program runs 24 months and is located at a medical college, teaching hospital, college, or university. Duke University in North Carolina began the first PA program in 1965, and the curriculum was modeled on the fast-track training of physicians during World War II. Today, the first year of PA instruction focuses on educating students in the medical and biological sciences. The second year is spent primarily in clinical rotations. The typical student already has a bachelor's degree and over 4 years of health care experience before being accepted into a PA program. Pas practice medicine with the supervision of physicians, though most State laws allow the physician to be away from the practice or working in another town when the PA is treating patients. Pas conduct physical exams, diagnose and treat illnesses, order and interpret tests, perform minor surgery, and in most States can write prescriptions.