Results of the PAEA 2006 Survey Of PA Program Expansion Plans

Abstract

INTRODUCTION Forty years ago, the nation faced a projected health care crisis as the number of trained medical professionals was growing at a slower rate than the patient population they cared for. The physician assistant (PA) was created in response to this crisis, an innovative health care professional who could help address the unmet health care needs of a growing population. Echoing publications of the 1960s, recent literature suggests that the nation will again soon face a critical shortage of physicians.1 In response, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) has recommended a 30% increase in the number of US medical school graduates over the next 10 years.2 Similarly, the Council on Graduate Medical Education has recommended increasing the number of physicians entering residency training from the recent level of 24,000 in 2002 to 27,000 in 2015. Currently, almost 25% of these slots are filled by international medical graduates (IMGs), a fact that has been noted as particularly problematic for the undeveloped donor countries that provide much of this workforce.3 It is clear that our medical colleagues are moving forward with agendas to increase the number of providers in the workforce.1,2 It is also clear that the projected shortage may represent an opportunity for the PA profession. The American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) recently addressed this issue with a 2006 House of Delegates resolution supporting “efforts that promote and foster creative solutions to health care shortages that include expansion and access to physician-PA teams to meet anticipated requirements for health care services.” The AAPA estimates that there are currently more than 63,000 PAs in clinical practice.4 To better understand and inform the Physician Assistant Education Association’s (PAEA’s) participation in the national dialogue on this important issue, in August 2006 PAEA distributed a survey to all accredited PA programs. The survey’s purpose was to gain information about anticipated program growth and projected numbers of PA graduates. The survey also gathered information on participants’ knowledge of new PA programs or allopathic or osteopathic medical schools planned for their areas. It is hoped that data from this survey will inform the ongoing discussion of workforce shortages and the projected unmet need that might be addressed by the PA profession.