PAs Interact with 10.4 Million Patients Weekly

 In the last decade, the PA profession has experienced an impressive 76% growth rate, and PAs interact with an estimated 10.4 million patients every week, according to the latest 2022 Statistical Profile on Board Certified PAs published by NCCPA. In 2013, there were 95,583 Board Certified PAs and by the end of 2022, the number of PAs reached 168,318.

The states with the highest percentage of growth in the number of PAs in the last five years include Mississippi (47.6%), South Carolina (45.9%) and Indiana (44.1%).

“PAs are a valuable and essential component to the health care team,” said NCCPA President and CEO Dawn Morton-Rias, Ed. D., PA-C, ICE-CCP, FACHE. “We are increasingly having a greater influence on the health of our nation.”

PAs continue to report high levels of job satisfaction with their career paths. Of the nearly 141,000 Board Certified PAs who provided a response, 86.7% indicated they were satisfied (from somewhat satisfied to completely satisfied) in their career as a PA. Additionally, 83.6% of PAs are satisfied with their current job.

In terms of practice settings, PAs who work in an office-based private practice expressed the highest job satisfaction at 85%.

“High career and job satisfaction is one of the reasons the PA profession is one of the fastest growing and highly rated health care roles in the U.S.,” Morton-Rias said. “Over their careers, more than half of PAs change clinical positions at least one time, demonstrating how versatile and adaptable the role is across different clinical settings and specialties.

The data-rich annual statistical report also compared 2022 findings with the 2018 report and was developed to gain insight into various PA demographics, such as geographic location, gender, age, education level, income, and job satisfaction.

Some other key findings from the 2022 report include:  

• Telemedicine is increasingly popular among PAs. In 2022, 40.3% of PAs participated in telemedicine in their practice compared to 8.7% in 2018.
• Psychiatry and critical care medicine had the greatest proportional increases among PA specialties.
• In 2022, there were 51 PAs per 100,000 population in the U.S., compared to 40 per 100,000 in 2018.
• Average income for PAs increased by 8.7% from $110,567 in 2018 to $120,204 in 2022.
• 5% have $100,000 or more in educational debt.
• 3% indicated their employers are currently in the process of recruiting or hiring additional PAs.
• 8% provide care to people living in areas deemed Health Professional Shortage Areas or Medically Underserved Areas.
• 2% reported feeling one or more symptoms of burnout, with 53.2% noting occasional burnout, and 1.5% saying they are “completely burned out.”
• 4% see patients on the weekend or evenings.

This marks the 10th year that NCCPA researchers have gathered data on Board Certified PAs, examined it for accuracy and communicated its findings on the profession’s growth and evolution in various clinical settings.

To download the complete 2022 statistical report, visit our research page. NCCPA website.