FEATURE STORY
02/16/06
Physician Assistant Profession Among Top 10 Professions
By Mark Freeman MBA, MEd, PA-C

Pittsburgh, PA - The Physician Assistant profession is once again listed among the fastest growing professions in the country, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Their recent report on 10 year projections for future job growth indicated that many of the occupations projected to grow the fastest in the economy are concentrated in the health care industry. For example, over the 2004–14 period, total employment of home health aides—including the self-employed—is projected to increase by 56 percent, medical assistants by 52 percent, physician assistants by 50 percent, and physical therapist assistants by 44 percent.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics report, employment in health care will continue to grow for several reasons. The number of people in older age groups, with much greater than average health care needs, will grow faster than the total population between 2004 and 2014; as a result, the demand for health care will increase. Employment in home health care and nursing and residential care should increase rapidly as life expectancies rise, and as aging children are less able to care for their parents and rely more on long-term care facilities. Advances in medical technology will continue to improve the survival rate of severely ill and injured patients, who will then need extensive therapy and care. New technologies will make it possible to identify and treat conditions that were previously not treatable. Medical group practices and integrated health systems will become larger and more complex, increasing the need for office and administrative support workers. Industry growth also will occur as a result of the shift from inpatient to less expensive outpatient and home health care because of improvements in diagnostic tests and surgical procedures, along with patients’ desires to be treated at home.

PAs rank 4th on the list of top ten professions, behind home health aides, computer/technology workers, and medical assistants. For more information, see the Bureau of Labor Statistics website at www.bls.gov . For more information on the profession, see http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos081.htm .