JOHNS CREEK, Ga.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) today released the most comprehensive data on certified physician assistants (PAs) in the workforce, citing information on 89% of the 102,000 certified PAs in America.
Significant findings include:
- The greatest number of PAs practice in family medicine, followed by the surgical subspecialties and emergency medicine.
- The average salary of a PA is $98,387, and the highest paid PAs work in dermatology, emergency medicine and critical care medicine.
- The PA profession is young. The median age of PAs is 38.
- In terms of race, 86.8% of PAs are white, 5.1% are Asian; and 3.9% are African-American. The profession is actively seeking to promote diversity.
- The top 5 states for PAs are New York, California, Texas, Pennsylvania and Florida. The top 5 states for PAs per 100,000 population are Alaska, South Dakota, Maine, Pennsylvania and New York.
“This year marks the 40th anniversary of PA certification,” says Dawn Morton-Rias, Ed. D, PA-C, president and CEO of NCCPA. “Today’s PAs are not just obtaining patient histories and performing physical exams. They assess, treat and manage patients across the health care spectrum; assist top surgeons, lead hospitalist teams, assess and manage all levels of acuity in emergency departments and provide care continuity in patient centered medical homes, to list a few. They work in every medical and surgical specialty from psychiatry to cardiovascular surgery and contribute greatly to managing the health of the population in all clinical settings.”
Watch Dawn Morton-Rias explain why certified PAs make a difference in healthcare.
Certified PAs must pass rigorous certification requirements, are licensed by state medical boards and are held to the same high standards of care that physicians provide. Certified PAs practice medicine with physicians, obtain patient histories, conduct physical exams, diagnose and treat illnesses, order and interpret tests, prescribe medication, counsel patients on health promotion and disease prevention strategies, assist in surgery, and perform a variety of procedures.
Download the 2014 Statistical Profile of Certified Physician Assistants.
About the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants
The National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) is the only certifying organization for physician assistants (PAs) in the United States. The PA-C credential is awarded by NCCPA to PAs who fulfill certification, certification maintenance and recertification requirements. There are approximately 102,000 certified PAs in the U.S. today. In addition to its generalist credential, NCCPA offers a Certificate of Added Qualifications (CAQ) for certified PAs practicing in cardiovascular and thoracic Surgery, emergency medicine, hospital medicine, nephrology, orthopaedic surgery, pediatrics and psychiatry.
