Physician assistants held about 63,000 jobs in 2002. The
number of jobs is actually larger than the number of PAs in
practice because some PA�s hold two or more jobs. For example,
some PAs work with a supervising physician, but also work in
another practice, clinic, or hospital. According to the American
Academy of Physician Assistants, almost 90 percent of certified
PAs were in clinical practice in 2003.
Employment of physician assistants is expected to grow much
faster than the average for all occupations through the year
2012, due to the continuing expansion of the overall health care
industry, the aging of the population, and an increased emphasis
on cost containment.
Physicians and institutions are expected to employ more PAs to
provide primary care and to assist with medical and surgical
procedures because PAs have proven to be cost-effective and
productive members of the healthcare team. Physician assistants
relieve physicians of routine duties and procedures, freeing them
to focus on complex and difficult to manage clinical problems.
Telemedicine—using technology to facilitate interactive
consultations between physicians and physician assistants—is also
likely to expand its use of physician assistants. Job
opportunities for PAs are good, particularly in rural and inner
city clinics that have difficulty attracting and retaining
physicians.
PAs are also likely to find a growing number of jobs in
institutional settings like hospitals, academic medical centers,
public clinics, and prisons. Additional PAs may be needed to
augment medical staffing in inpatient teaching hospital settings
as the number of hours that medical residents are permitted to
work has been reduced, thus encouraging hospitals to use PAs to
make up the difference. Opportunities will be best in those
states that allow PAs a wider scope of practice.
In 2002, the median annual earnings of physician assistants
was $64,670. According to the American Academy of Physician
Assistants, the median income for physician assistants in
full-time clinical practice in 2003 was around $72,457. Income
varies across different practice settings, locations, and
increased years of experience.
