|
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.
|
