The emerging importance of the physician assistant in the health care field continues to attract more medically inclined professionals to that area of practice. The quantifiable growth of the field, as outlined in a new study, underscores the profession's surging influence.

From 2003 to 2013, reports the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants, certified physician assistants increased by 219 percent. Between 2012 and 2013, the number increased by 6 percent, the study found, bringing the total number of professionals in the U.S. to 95,583.

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The report is based upon survey responses by almost 80 percent of certified PAs in their personal profiles on a portal of the NCCPA website, the commission said.

Among findings:

  • 66 percent are women, 62 percent of which are under 40 years old;
  • 86 percent are white;
  • 66 percent have master's degrees;
  • 3 percent speak two or more languages, most those having Spanish as a second language after English;
  • Nearly half practice in family medicine/general practice or surgical subspecialties, with the rest spread across such areas of practice as emergency medicine and internal medicine;
  • Most work about 41 hours a week;
  • Most see about 70 patients weekly;
  • 78 percent of recently graduated PAs received multiple job offers, and 52 percent received three or more job offers.

"It is not surprising to see that demand is high for certified PAs in the era of health care reform," Dawn Morton-Rias, EdD, PA-C, president and CEO of NCCPA, said in a news release. "The PAs who responded cumulatively see over 5 million patients a week and are well entrenched in the delivery of health care to patients across the nation. As newly insured patients increase and more Baby Boomers enter the Medicare system, demand for PAs will continue to surge as proven providers of quality care."

The full report contains considerable data on physician assistants by gender, race, state, occupational preferences, educational background and more.

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Dan Cook

Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.