 Career
Path Forecast
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics,
employment of physician assistants of physician assistants is expected
to grow by 39 percent from 2008 to 2018, much faster than the average
for all occupations.
Projected rapid job growth
reflects the expansion of healthcare industries and an emphasis on cost
containment, which results in increasing use of PAs by healthcare
establishments.
Physicians and institutions
are expected to employ more PAs to provide primary care and to assist
with medical and surgical procedures because PAs are cost-effective and
productive members of the healthcare team. Physician assistants can
relieve physicians of routine duties and procedures. Healthcare
providers will use more physician assistants as States continue to
expand PAs’ scope of practice by allowing them to perform more
procedures.
 Besides
working in traditional office-based settings, PAs should find a growing
number of jobs in institutional settings such as hospitals, academic
medical centers, public clinics, and prisons.
Job opportunities for PAs
should be good, particularly in rural and inner-city clinics because
those settings have difficulty attracting physicians. Job openings will
result both from employment growth and from the need to replace
physician assistants who retire or leave the occupation permanently.
Opportunities will be best in States that allow PAs a wider scope of
practice.
Note: Some resources in this section are provided by the US Department
of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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