Thinking about becoming a Physician Assistant (PA)? You’re going to be carving out a bright future for yourself — and creating the opportunity to make a powerful impact on lots of lives.
From primary care to hospital leadership, physician assistant roles are expanding and growing fast — the number of employed PAs in the U.S. is expected to grow by 39,300 or 31.3% between 2019 and 2029, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Today, PA roles are expanding to help fill existing healthcare gaps fueled by a growing physician shortage. Physician assistants are entering hospital leadership roles and becoming more involved in research, education. They’re also entering fields such as dermatology, pediatrics, surgery and other subspecialities.
“PAs now enjoy widespread acceptance, embraced as collaborators by the medical community,” said Lisa Mustone Alexander, president of the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA).
According to the American Association of Physician Assistants, PAs roles are myriad: taking medical histories; conducting physical exams; diagnosing and treating illness; ordering and interpreting tests; developing treatment plans; prescribing medication; counseling on preventive care; performing procedures; assisting in surgery; making rounds in hospitals and nursing homes and doing clinical research.
New PA Opportunities Popping Up Every Day
And now, the roles of PAs are continuing to expand even more. Experts say new opportunities are popping up every day. Here are some of the limitless ways PAs are expanding their roles in the healthcare system:
- State and federal legislation changes opening new pathways for PAs:
- Some states were clearing the way for PAs to be able to sign death certificates and improve their prescriptive authority, while others extended rural provider incentives to PAs.
Congress recently passed legislation to allow PAs to manage and provide hospice care to terminally ill Medicare patients.
2. Advances in telemedicine also fueling changes in PA roles:
“In additional to health system changes, technologic developments are growing the PA scope of practice,” wrote the authors of an article in the Annals of Health Law. They went on to point out that a key example is the advent and expansion of telemedicine, and that “states are increasingly recognizing the importance of PAs in telemedicine.”
3. Mental health care Patients with severe and persistent mental illness often face limited access to psychiatric and primary care. Growing research is pointing to PAs role in improving greater access to and the quality of primary and psychiatric care.
At HealthCareer CERTS we’re here to help you one student and one step at a time.
Check out these HealthCareer CERTS resources for PA students.
Simplify your PA school application journey with these study tactics from HealthCareer CERTS and our partner, MyPAbox – the ultimate tool for pre-PA students.
For more information on how to advance your healthcare career through our nationally-accredited health certificates click here.
