1. The Power of the PA Profession
Month, XX, 2017

2. 1967 2016 Duke University First graduating class:
Three former Navy corpsmen
2016
Today, PAs practice in every medical specialty and clinical setting
In the mid-1960s, physicians and educators recognized that there was a shortage of primary care providers, much like we have today.
To help remedy this, Dr. Eugene A. Stead, Jr., at Duke University, revived a training model that had been used for “fast-track training” of doctors during World War II and adapted it to train four Navy hospital corpsmen. The result was the PA profession.
The first PA class graduated from the Duke University PA program in The medical community helped support the profession and spurred the setting of accreditation standards, establishment of a national certification process and standardized examination, and development of continuing medical education requirements.
Today, there are more than 115,500 certified PAs, trained at 218 different PA programs, practicing medicine in every specialty and clinical setting.

6. All states have an obligation to project those within their borders by regulating the practice of medicine. By including the PA profession in state law and designating a state agency to regulate PA practice, states both protect the public and define roles for PAs.
States have modified their approach to PA regulation over the years in response to a growing body of information demonstrating the safety and high quality of PA practice and the need to better utilize their healthcare workforce.
AAPA works closely with constituent organizations to modernize healthcare laws and expand access to care.

9. PAs are in demand: The role PAs play in expanding access to care while creating increased value for patients and hospitals is critical right now.
America is facing some serious healthcare challenges as our population gets larger, the average person grows older and patients are living longer with more chronic conditions.

10. Everywhere you look, PAs are in the news
Everywhere you look, PAs are in the news. Whether it’s coverage of a PA working in a local community who has made a difference—or recognition of the profession as one of the most promising or “best jobs,” PAs enjoy high visibility, which continues to trend upwards.

11. “But what will being a PA be like for me?”
That question is difficult because career flexibility is a hallmark of the profession.
PAs have so many options open to them, and the average PA changes specialties two to three times in their career. However, there are several trends we are seeing in both how the profession is being compensated and the how the American healthcare system is changing that may help you decide.

12. While there is tremendous flexibility for the PA profession, there are a few trends we’re seeing evolve in the healthcare system, the most prominent being that healthcare in the U.S. is changing rapidly and PAs are uniquely positioned to take advantage of these changes.
In most states, experienced PAs can practice with a great degree of autonomy if they choose to. Many PAs even have their own roster of patients.
Some PAs, especially those providing primary and urgent care in rural areas, run or even own a health clinic or center.
However, medicine in general is moving toward a more team-based care model as more and more hospitals, provider practices and specialty practices consolidate.
This consolidation of providers and move toward more team-based care has made PAs one of the most sought-after categories of providers in large health systems.

13. The demand for PAs has fueled an increase in PA salaries
The demand for PAs has fueled an increase in PA salaries. According to new data from the AAPA, PA compensation continues to increase faster than both national inflation and most other professions, and has consistently done so for more than 15 years.
The 2016 AAPA Salary Report shows an increase of 3.4 percent in national median base salary for PAs between 2014 and 2015, and an overall increase of about 50 percent greater than the rate of inflation between 2000 and 2015.
The comprehensive report put out each year by AAPA also provides information on benefits, bonuses and wages broken down by geographic location, specialty, employer type, work setting and years of experience.
Data from the 2016 AAPA Salary Report equips PAs, future PAs and healthcare thought leaders with the information they need to understand the changes to our national healthcare system and the role PAs are playing in shaping its future.
The following slides contain a few highlights from this year’s report.

14. All PAs: Base Salary by Specialty*
Primary Care
Internal Medicine Subspecialties
Pediatric Subspecialties
Surgical Subspecialties
Emergency
Medicine
All Other Subspecialties
One of the factors that goes into determining what compensation to expect is what specialty you practice in.
PA data mirrors physician data, with some of the lowest salaries going to PAs in primary care.
PAs in primary care reported earning $90,000 in On the other end of the spectrum are the surgical specialties in which, when aggregated, PAs reported earning $102,000 in 2015; as well as emergency medicine with $101,250.
*The data reflect clinically practicing PAs who worked 32 hours or more per week in 2015.
Source: 2016 AAPA Salary Report

15. New PAs: Base Salary by Specialty*
Primary Care
Internal Medicine Subspecialties
Pediatric Subspecialties
Surgical Subspecialties
Emergency
Medicine
All Other Subspecialties
While the previous slide covered what type of compensation you may expect as a PA in different specialties, this is a bit different for PAs who are just starting their career.
With the exception of primary care and pediatric subspecialties, there is a large difference in the median compensation of a PA who is in their first year of clinical practice and those overall.
*The data reflect clinically practicing PAs with 0 to 1 year experience who worked 32 hours or more per week in 2015.

16. Where PAs Are Working – by Work Setting
Physician Office or Clinic
Hospital
Urgent Care Center
School, College or University
All Other Subspecialties
*The data reflect clinically practicing PAs.
Source: 2016 AAPA Salary Report
While there are PAs practice in every clinical setting , half of all PAs reported working in a physician office or clinic in 2015 and another 40% reported that they worked in a hospital.

17. Where PAs are working - Specialty
Where PAs Are Working – by Specialty
Where PAs are working - Specialty
*The data reflect clinically practicing PAs.
Source: 2016 AAPA Salary Report
PAs are practicing in almost every specialty physicians are practicing.
One of the hallmarks of the PA profession is the medical generalist training which allows PAs to move between specialties to meet the changing healthcare workforce needs.
We expect to see the distribution of PAs across specialties continue to change year over year as PAs avail themselves of this flexibility.
In 2014 this was 8.3% of PAs and in 2015 it was 5.5% of PAs who changed the specialty they practiced in.

19. The American Academy of PAs is the national association for the PA profession and serves as the public voice of PAs across the country.
AAPA helps PAs work to the top of their education and experience and advocates for PAs with legislatures and regulatory bodies, employers, the media and the public.
AAPA’s work is best captured in the four strategic commitments we made to the profession in our strategic plan. These include:
Equip PAs for expanded opportunities in healthcare.
Advance the PA identity.
Create progressive work environments for PAs.
Foster AAPA organizational effectiveness and sustainability.

20. Founded in 1968, AAPA is currently 55,000 members strong (including over 14,000 student members), all of whom rely on AAPA to deliver them the resources, knowledge and member befits they need to excel as clinical providers and PA leaders.

21. For more information on the profession go to AAPA.ORG