Physician Assistant: A Career in Demand
It's one of the fastest growing professions in North America, yet
many people still haven't heard of it. But that is changing. The health-care
professionals known as physician assistants (PAs) are poised to take center
stage.
"When I graduated in 1996, I had to explain what a PA does every day to
every patient and to every provider that hadn't met me at the hospital yet,"
says Kevin Lohenry. "And nowadays when people ask what I do, it seems like
many more know what we do and who we are."
In addition to being a physician assistant, Lohenry is president of the
Physician Assistant Education Association.
Physician assistants (PAs) work under the supervision of physicians. They
diagnose and treat patients and assist in surgeries. They are able to do most
of the things done by physicians.
Counting the Demand
As their numbers grow, physician assistants are getting more attention.
More and more people are learning about the important role that PAs play in
our health-care system.
"In 1996, there were 29,000 practicing PAs. And we now have over 81,000
certified PAs," says Lohenry.
"I think we're hitting a tipping point where there's enough of us out there
that people are starting to become more familiar [with us], but we still have
a long way to go with high school guidance counselors and college guidance
counselors."
Most PAs are graduates of master's PA programs that take about two years
to complete. Applicants typically have a BA or BS degree and some health care
experience before entering a PA program.
"Graduates find work fairly quickly. Many have multiple job offers and
the salaries have continued to rise," says Lohenry.
This growth is expected to continue for many years to come.
"There's a shortage that's predicted, from many of the leading workforce
experts in the United States, of about 91,000 physicians in the year 2020,"
says Lohenry.
"That's among primary care physicians and specialty physicians, and so
PAs and nurse practitioners will likely play a significant role in tending
to the needs of our health-care system. And so I think the job outlook looks
very, very good."
Explaining the Increase
"It's less costly to train us. We're able to get to the workforce more
quickly than the time it takes to train a physician," says Lohenry.
He explains that PA programs have an average length of about 26 months.
After that, they are able to help the physician as part of a PA-physician
team caring for patients.
"I think that growth has come from the variety of physicians and health
systems that have seen the competency that we provide in terms of compassionate,
competent health care as a profession," Lohenry adds. "It has caught on."
PAs say they have a very rewarding career.
"It's a very satisfying, collegial teamwork profession," says Ky Haverkamp.
He's a practicing PA and a professor in the MEDEX Northwest Physician Assistant
Program at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
"The other thing that is fueling that growth is the amount of flexibility
you have in your career," says Haverkamp. "For example, many of our graduates
will initially work in primary care for seven to 10 years, and then potentially
transfer to a specialty area."
For example, after gaining experience, a PA could specialize in orthopedics.
Then the PA has the professional flexibility to move to another area, such
as cardiology or thoracic surgery.
"So it's a very fluid, dynamic profession that gives you a lot of options,
in addition to teaching options," says Haverkamp.
Time to Discover the PA Profession
More and more young people are starting to discover this growing profession.
Chelsea Sauve is one example. She's a student in the physician assistant program
at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York.
"It's unfortunate because I didn't learn about the PA profession or didn't
really know who PAs were or what they did until I was a junior in college,
and it's such a growing profession right now," says Sauve.
She wishes more young people knew about it this profession -- especially
young people who are interested in health care, but don't want to become a
doctor. "We are medical providers, we are health-care professionals, we do
provide physician care," she says.
Links
American Academy of Physician Assistants
Learn more about being a physician assistant
Society of Emergency Medicine Physician Assistants
Learn about working in the ER
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