2011-09-08
Physician Assistant
Workforce in the United States Reaches Record High
American Academy of
Physician Assistants Census Report contains key information on fast-growing
health care profession
Washington, DC – The
American Academy of Physician Assistants today released its 2010 Census Report
and Salary Report. These documents provide data revealing that, even in a down
economy, the profession continues to grow rapidly and reward PAs professionally
and personally.
According to the Census, the number of practicing PA reached
83,466 in 2010, a 100 percent increase over last 10 years.Female PAs outnumber their male counterparts by nearly 20,000. More
than 30 percent of PAs practice in primary care, making it the largest
specialty for PAs.
Nearly 30 percent of PAs practice in single-specialty
physician group practices, and 40-percent have been in their current primary
specialty for at least six years. The Census also shows that PAs enjoy their
work, as 66 percent indicate they are satisfied or mostly satisfied with their
career.
“PAs are the only health care providers educated and
credentialed with a primary care focus, providing a strong foundation for
any specialty in which they may choose
to practice,” said AAPA President Robert Wooten, PA-C. “The information from
AAPA’s salary and census reports clearly confirm what PAs and the health care
world have known for years: The PA profession is growing rapidly, and it is key
to expanding access to quality health care for millions of Americans.”
PAs earn a median annual salary of $90,000 according to the Salary
report, an increase of 2.8-percent from the 2009 survey. The three states with
the highest salary increase in 2010 were Rhode Island, South Dakota and
Missouri all with increases of more than nine percent over the previous year.
While the majority of PAs are in clinical practice, an
estimated 5,079 PAs work either alone or concurrently in health care education, administration, research and public health – a figure that
demonstrates the growing role PAs play in influencing the entire health care
field.
The AAPA annual Census is a survey of physician assistants,
both AAPA members and nonmembers. The data collected are used to track PA
workforce issues, calculate summary statistics and describe the salary information.
Download the full report.
Contact:
Patrick Dunne
571-319-4394, pdunne@aapa.org
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Methodology statement
To ensure that
responses accurately represent the entire profession, not just those who
participated in the census, weight factors were applied to the data.Weighting is used to
compensate for the fact that not all PAs in the country participate in the
survey. Using multivariate logistic
regression we determined that age, sex, ethnicity and certification/licensure
status were the most important factors affecting census participation. We used
these to calculate census weights for this report. Detailed information on the
methodology is included in the survey.
About the American
Academy of Physician Assistants
Founded in 1968, the American Academy of Physician
Assistants is the national professional society for physician assistants. It
represents a profession of over 81,000 certified PAs across all medical and
surgical specialties in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the majority
of the U.S. territories, and within the uniformed services. AAPA advocates and
educates on behalf of the profession and the patients PAs serve. It works to
ensure the professional growth, personal excellence and recognition of
physician assistants and to enhance their ability to improve the quality,
accessibility and cost-effectiveness of patient-centered health care. Visit www.aapa.org to learn more.
