Demand Remains Strong for Newly Certified Physician Assistants

Majority of Recently Certified PAs Choose from Multiple Job Offers and Incentives

Certified Physician Assistants (PAs) continue to be in high demand according to NCCPA’s 2017 Statistical Report of Recently Certified PAs. The comprehensive report, which is issued annually, shows that over 77 percent of these PAs had multiple job offers and an average starting salary of almost $95,000. For the second consecutive year, the highest salaries were in radiation oncology, occupational medicine, gynecology, emergency medicine and psychiatry.

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Number of Job Offers For Recently Certified PAs (Graphic: Business Wire)

With physician assistant being ranked as a top job by U.S. News and World Report and the U.S. Bureau of Labor predicting a 37 percent increase in PAs by 2026, the profession is attracting both top college graduates and those interested in second careers. The Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) predicts that the number of PA educational programs will grow from 236 currently, to 293 in the next three years—an increase of 24 percent.

According to the report, over 8,700 graduates of PA programs were recently certified. Highlights from the report include:

• Recently certified PAs are practicing in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, with the greatest numbers in New York, Pennsylvania, Florida, California, North Carolina, and Texas.
• The median age is 27 years old, with the youngest being 22 and the oldest being 64.
• Almost 53 percent have accepted a position in a hospital setting; over 19 percent accepted a job in a surgical specialty; and over 19 percent accepted a position in emergency medicine.
• Over 1/3 of those going to work in a rural area indicated that they grew up in a rural area; 1/5 of those going to work in an urban medically underserved area grew up in a similar area.
• Almost 70 percent who have accepted a position were offered incentives, such as reimbursement for CME and certification maintenance, a signing bonus, relocation expenses and loan repayment.

“Certified PAs enjoy flexibility, a work/life balance, and an above average starting salary so it is attractive as a profession,” says Dawn Morton-Rias, Ed.D, PA-C, president and CEO of NCCPA.

“Over the past 50 years, PAs have earned a reputation for providing high-quality care, which has created an increasing demand for their services. NCCPA continues to certify PAs through rigorous programs that are among the toughest in health care. Thus, employers and patients have come to rely on certified PAs.”

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. NCCPA also administers the Certificate of Added Qualifications (CAQ) program, a credential for certified PAs practicing in seven specialties. Today, there are more than 123,000 certified PAs working in the U.S., in every clinical setting and specialty. For more information about PA certification please visit www.nccpa.net.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181009005439/en/

NCCPA
Mary Rittle, Director of Communications
maryr@nccpa.net
678.417.8142

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