CAREER OUTLOOK:

At the beginning of 2008 the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) estimated there are 79,706 people eligible to practice as PAs. Of those, approximately 2,000 are licensed to practice in Ohio.

The PA profession was ranked the fourth fastest growing profession in the country by CNN.com and Forbes.com in 2007. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projected the number of PA jobs to increase 27% between 2006 and 2016, much faster than the average for all occupations.

CAREER PRACTICE ISSUES:

To obtain national certification a PA must sit for and pass the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination (PANCE), administered by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA).

Only graduates of an accredited PA program are eligible to take the PANCE.

To maintain NCCPA certification each PA must comply with the (six-year) cycle of continuous NCCPA Certificate Maintenance. The maintenance process includes earning and logging 100 Continuing Medical Education (CME) hours every two years; re-registration of certification every two years and successful completion of the re-certification exam (PANRE) every six years.

Currently, physician assistants have been granted legal authority for prescription privileges in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.  In Ohio, as of January 1, 2008, a PA must have a masters degree or higher to obtain a certificate to practice.

Information about The University of Findlay Physician Assistant Student PANCE performance are located on the UF PANCE Performance Reports page.

EMPLOYMENT ISSUES:

Over one-third of PAs practice in the primary care specialties while general surgery and surgical sub-specialties are the next largest practice areas.

Employment settings for PAs include hospitals, community-based health centers, rural clinics, rehabilitation centers, group practices, military bases, managed care organizations, as well as academia, administration and research.

Results of the 2008 AAPA Physician Assistant Census Survey indicate that the mean total income from primary employer for PAs who are not self-employed and who work at least 32 hours per week for their primary employer is $89,987 (standard deviation $22,487); the median is $87,710. The comparable mean for PAs who have been in clinical practice for less than one year is $76,232 (standard deviation $13,999); the median is $74,470. Large differences in compensation can exist due to employment discipline, setting, geographic location, economic cycles and delegated scope of practice.