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Number of Certified PAs Increased 44% in 6 Years

May 2017

Fifty years after the first 3 physician assistants (PAs) graduated from Duke University, certified PAs are key providers in the health care delivery system and practicing medicine and surgery in every state, specialty, and clinical setting. The 2016 Statistical Profile of Certified Physician Assistants with input from more than 94% of certified PAs was recently released by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA). The profile information was compiled from more than 101,000 certified PAs.

The profile report shows:

• More than 70% of PAs work in specialties outside primary care, including in highly technical surgical specialties, emergency medicine, and hospital medicine.
• A shift from the early years when the profession consisting of former military medics was all male to a population of certified PAs that is now 67% female.
• The states with the largest number of PAs are New York, California, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Florida. However, 3 of the top 5 states with the largest number of PAs per capita are Alaska, South Dakota, and Montana, indicating that certified PAs often fill the void for health care in rural areas.
 • Certified PAs earn an average salary of over $104,000, with the highest paid to those in pathology, dermatology, surgical subspecialties, and critical care medicine.

“As a profession, we are 50 years young,” said Dawn Morton-Rias, EdD, PA-C, president and chief executive officer of NCCPA. “We have made historic strides, and the future is brighter than ever. The profession is young (average age of PAs is 38) and the demand for well-qualified providers is expanding. Certified PAs contribute greatly to the value-based care model and offer a solution to the nation’s need to provide access to care at a sustainable cost. I am proud to be a PA-C.”

For more information, please visit www.PAsDoThat.net.

Fifty years after the first 3 physician assistants (PAs) graduated from Duke University, certified PAs are key providers in the health care delivery system and practicing medicine and surgery in every state, specialty, and clinical setting. The 2016 Statistical Profile of Certified Physician Assistants with input from more than 94% of certified PAs was recently released by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA). The profile information was compiled from more than 101,000 certified PAs.

The profile report shows:

• More than 70% of PAs work in specialties outside primary care, including in highly technical surgical specialties, emergency medicine, and hospital medicine.
• A shift from the early years when the profession consisting of former military medics was all male to a population of certified PAs that is now 67% female.
• The states with the largest number of PAs are New York, California, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Florida. However, 3 of the top 5 states with the largest number of PAs per capita are Alaska, South Dakota, and Montana, indicating that certified PAs often fill the void for health care in rural areas.
 • Certified PAs earn an average salary of over $104,000, with the highest paid to those in pathology, dermatology, surgical subspecialties, and critical care medicine.

“As a profession, we are 50 years young,” said Dawn Morton-Rias, EdD, PA-C, president and chief executive officer of NCCPA. “We have made historic strides, and the future is brighter than ever. The profession is young (average age of PAs is 38) and the demand for well-qualified providers is expanding. Certified PAs contribute greatly to the value-based care model and offer a solution to the nation’s need to provide access to care at a sustainable cost. I am proud to be a PA-C.”

For more information, please visit www.PAsDoThat.net.

Fifty years after the first 3 physician assistants (PAs) graduated from Duke University, certified PAs are key providers in the health care delivery system and practicing medicine and surgery in every state, specialty, and clinical setting. The 2016 Statistical Profile of Certified Physician Assistants with input from more than 94% of certified PAs was recently released by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA). The profile information was compiled from more than 101,000 certified PAs.

The profile report shows:

• More than 70% of PAs work in specialties outside primary care, including in highly technical surgical specialties, emergency medicine, and hospital medicine.
• A shift from the early years when the profession consisting of former military medics was all male to a population of certified PAs that is now 67% female.
• The states with the largest number of PAs are New York, California, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Florida. However, 3 of the top 5 states with the largest number of PAs per capita are Alaska, South Dakota, and Montana, indicating that certified PAs often fill the void for health care in rural areas.
 • Certified PAs earn an average salary of over $104,000, with the highest paid to those in pathology, dermatology, surgical subspecialties, and critical care medicine.

“As a profession, we are 50 years young,” said Dawn Morton-Rias, EdD, PA-C, president and chief executive officer of NCCPA. “We have made historic strides, and the future is brighter than ever. The profession is young (average age of PAs is 38) and the demand for well-qualified providers is expanding. Certified PAs contribute greatly to the value-based care model and offer a solution to the nation’s need to provide access to care at a sustainable cost. I am proud to be a PA-C.”

For more information, please visit www.PAsDoThat.net.

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