The Modern History of the PA Profession
- Jul 19, 2021
- 2 min read
Updated: Nov 23, 2021
In the mid 1960s, a lack of physicians and the maldistribution of those in practice created a timely need for medical workers who had the education to treat patients to a similar extent in which doctors did. This led to the first educational program for what would be known as physician assistants (PAs). In 1965, Dr. Eugene Stead, Department of Medicine chairman at Duke University designed a two-year program to educate individuals who could support the lack of medical professionals by becoming physician assistants. The first trained PAs were retired Navy corpsmen who studied under Dr. Stead at Duke. These men already had a strong foundation in dealing with trauma and surgery.
Physician assistants were regarded as substitutes for physicians. They were able to give a variety of medical care with minimal physician oversight. Since the 1960s, the role of PAs in the medical field has increased exponentially. Laws and regulations on what PAs can and can’t do have been debated and changed constantly. Physician assistants were given the right to prescribe, dispense, and administer medications in 1991. In the late 1990s, the Association of Physician Assistant Programs required graduate level training to become a PA in addition to undergraduate studies. In 2018, legislation removed restrictions on how many PAs a physician may practice with. In 2019, legislation proclaimed the relationship of PAs with physicians to be collaborative, not dependent.
Today, there are over 250 accredited PA programs in the United States alone. PAs practice in all 50 states and are even beginning to be recognized internationally. There are over 140,000 PAs who are certified to practice within the United States and the number continues to grow in rapid rates, as the PA profession has been ranked in the top five best jobs since 2010 according to U.S. News and was number one in 2021. This ranking was based on salary, education, lifestyle, and expected job growth.
PAs are outlined by the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) as “Medical professionals who diagnose illness, develop and manage treatment plans, prescribe medications, and often serve as a patient’s principal health care provider.” Physician assistants today provide diagnostic evaluations, surgical assistance, pharmaceutical prescription, and therapeutic remediations. PAs are becoming increasingly self-sufficient, responsible, and practicable and are relying less upon the direct supervision of physicians. Most recently, the AAPA voted to change the professional title of physician assistant to physician associate since many believe it is a better reflection upon what their role means.
The job of a PA has been changing since the 1960s and continues to do so today as medicine evolves and becomes increasingly prevalent in global society.
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