Introduction
Highlights of National Statistics
List of Tables
Subject Index
The American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) was founded in 1968 and is the only national organization representing physician assistants (PAs) in all medical specialties. The Academy educates the general public about the PA profession, assures competency of PAs through active involvement in the accreditation of PA programs, provides continuing education, and conducts PA-related research. The Academy works to promote quality, cost-effective health care, and the professional and personal growth of PAs.
From 1990 to 1995, the AAPA conducted a census survey of its members. Beginning in 1996, the census survey was expanded to include those PAs who were not members of AAPA. While the survey instrument and the data collection process have undergone some revisions since the inception of the census, the general approach and data elements have remained much the same.
The data collection effort for the 2007 AAPA Physician Assistant Census was conducted between February 20 and September 15, 2007. The 2007 Census was available online as well as on paper; 2007 was the second year that this survey was available to be completed online.
A link to the online version of the survey was posted on the home page of the AAPA web site and an email with a link to the survey was sent between February 20 and March 1, 2007 to the 46,967 PAs for whom a valid email address was available. Between May 18 and May 24, 2007, reminder emails were sent to the 31,250 individuals who had not responded by May 16 (and for whom email address was available). Finally, reminder messages with a link to the online survey were sent to AAPA members with valid email addresses via AAPA's monthly E-News in March and June.
The paper version of the survey was mailed on March 20, 2007 to all individuals, both AAPA members and non-members, who were believed to be eligible to practice as PAs in the United States as of December 31, 2006 and for whom address information was available, but the paper version of the survey was not sent to individuals from whom an online response had been received prior to March 12, 2007, or to individuals who had indicated on a previous Census that they were retired or working as a physician. Paper surveys were mailed to 61,883 people. A second copy of the paper survey was mailed on June 19, 2007, to 47,542 individuals who had not completed a survey, either online or paper, prior to June 13.
In total, 69,473 PAs were invited to participate in the 2007 Census – accounting for 92.7 percent of the 75,260 individuals eligible to practice as PAs. Completed surveys were received from 26,192 people, representing 34.8 percent of all individuals eligible to practice as PAs and 37.7 percent of the PAs who were invited to participate. Of the 28,439 AAPA members invited to participate, 17,480 (61.5%) responded; of the 41,034 non-members who were invited to participate, 8,712 (21.2%) responded.
This document presents the responses received on the Census survey and also includes certain static information derived from the AAPA Masterfile, such as sex, race, educational attainment, and age. It should be noted that these data have not been weighted or adjusted to account for non-response, the number of usable responses for each item varies due to item non-response, and that the percentages displayed may not sum to 100 due to rounding.
To facilitate locating specific items of interest, an index of the subjects addressed by the tables is provided in addition to a list of tables.
Section I. Characteristics of Respondents and Non-Respondents
Highlights of National Statistics
List of Tables
Subject Index
Introduction
The American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) was founded in 1968 and is the only national organization representing physician assistants (PAs) in all medical specialties. The Academy educates the general public about the PA profession, assures competency of PAs through active involvement in the accreditation of PA programs, provides continuing education, and conducts PA-related research. The Academy works to promote quality, cost-effective health care, and the professional and personal growth of PAs.
From 1990 to 1995, the AAPA conducted a census survey of its members. Beginning in 1996, the census survey was expanded to include those PAs who were not members of AAPA. While the survey instrument and the data collection process have undergone some revisions since the inception of the census, the general approach and data elements have remained much the same.
The data collection effort for the 2007 AAPA Physician Assistant Census was conducted between February 20 and September 15, 2007. The 2007 Census was available online as well as on paper; 2007 was the second year that this survey was available to be completed online.
A link to the online version of the survey was posted on the home page of the AAPA web site and an email with a link to the survey was sent between February 20 and March 1, 2007 to the 46,967 PAs for whom a valid email address was available. Between May 18 and May 24, 2007, reminder emails were sent to the 31,250 individuals who had not responded by May 16 (and for whom email address was available). Finally, reminder messages with a link to the online survey were sent to AAPA members with valid email addresses via AAPA's monthly E-News in March and June.
The paper version of the survey was mailed on March 20, 2007 to all individuals, both AAPA members and non-members, who were believed to be eligible to practice as PAs in the United States as of December 31, 2006 and for whom address information was available, but the paper version of the survey was not sent to individuals from whom an online response had been received prior to March 12, 2007, or to individuals who had indicated on a previous Census that they were retired or working as a physician. Paper surveys were mailed to 61,883 people. A second copy of the paper survey was mailed on June 19, 2007, to 47,542 individuals who had not completed a survey, either online or paper, prior to June 13.
In total, 69,473 PAs were invited to participate in the 2007 Census – accounting for 92.7 percent of the 75,260 individuals eligible to practice as PAs. Completed surveys were received from 26,192 people, representing 34.8 percent of all individuals eligible to practice as PAs and 37.7 percent of the PAs who were invited to participate. Of the 28,439 AAPA members invited to participate, 17,480 (61.5%) responded; of the 41,034 non-members who were invited to participate, 8,712 (21.2%) responded.
This document presents the responses received on the Census survey and also includes certain static information derived from the AAPA Masterfile, such as sex, race, educational attainment, and age. It should be noted that these data have not been weighted or adjusted to account for non-response, the number of usable responses for each item varies due to item non-response, and that the percentages displayed may not sum to 100 due to rounding.
To facilitate locating specific items of interest, an index of the subjects addressed by the tables is provided in addition to a list of tables.
Highlights of National Statistics
Section I. Characteristics of Respondents and Non-Respondents
- Sex: Females accounted for 64 percent of the respondents to this year’s census.
- Ethnicity: White PAs comprise 88 percent of the respondents.
- PA Education: Just under half (42%) of respondents hold a bachelor's level PA degree; 39 percent of respondents hold a master's level PA degree.
- Age: The mean age of census respondents is 41 years (median = 39), the mean age at time of graduation from PA school was 31 years (median = 28), and the mean number of years since graduation from PA school for census respondents is 11 (median = 7).
- Practice Status: The vast majority of respondents (92%) are in clinical practice.
- Current Profession: Five percent of respondents reported working as a PA educator. This was the most common professional activity other than providing clinical services as a PA.
- Number of Clinical PA Jobs: Eighty-five percent of respondents reported working exactly one clinical PA job; 15 percent work more than one clinical PA job concurrently.
- Employer Type: More than four in ten respondents (44%) are employed by a single or multi-specialty physician group practice while 23 percent are employed by hospitals and 13 percent are employed by solo physician offices.
- Government Employment: About nine percent of respondents work for some type of government agency. The Department of Veterans’ Affairs is the single largest government employer of PAs accounting for about two percent of respondents; state governments collectively employ three percent of this year’s respondents.
- Primary Work Setting: The most prevalent "primary" work setting, reported by 38 percent of respondents, is a hospital; the hospital departments cited most frequently as primary settings are hospital inpatient units (10%), hospital emergency rooms (10%), hospital outpatient units (7%), and hospital operating rooms (7%). Physician group practices are the primary work setting for 31 percent of respondents; 22 percent report working in a single-specialty group practice and nine percent report working in a multi-specialty group practice. Other settings reported as the primary work setting by large numbers of PAs include solo-practice physician offices (12%), and Federally Qualified Health Centers or community health facilities (8%).
- Work Settings where Clinical Services are Provided over the Course of a Typical Month: Respondents were asked to indicate all of the settings where they provide clinical services for their primary clinical employer over the course of a typical month. The specific work settings reported by at least 20 percent of respondents are hospital inpatient units (35%), hospital emergency rooms (31%), single-specialty physician group practices (29%), hospital intensive care/critical care units (23%), hospital operating rooms (22%), and hospital outpatient units (21%).
- Primary Specialty of Practice: While PAs practice in over 60 different specialty fields, 37 percent of this year’s respondents reported that their primary specialty was one of the primary care fields: family/general medicine (25%), general internal medicine (7%), general pediatrics (2%), and obstetrics/gynecology (2%). Other prevalent specialties for PAs include general surgery/surgical subspecialties (25%), emergency medicine (10%), the subspecialties of internal medicine (11%) and dermatology (4%).
- Years in Clinical Practice, Years in Current Position, and Years in Current Specialty: The mean number of years respondents have been in clinical practice is 9 (median = 6), the mean number of years respondents have worked in their current position is 5 (median = 3), and the mean number of years respondents have worked in their current specialty is 7 (median = 4).
- Geographic Distribution: The states with the largest numbers of clinically practicing respondents are:
New York - (8%)
California - (7%)
Texas - (6%)
Pennsylvania - (6%)
Florida - (6%)
North Carolina - (5%).
Michigan - (5%) - Metropolitan Status of Work Site: Fifteen percent of respondents work in counties that are non-metropolitan.
- Functions and Responsibilities: PAs can perform a variety of functions for their primary employers. More than half (59%) reported performing minor surgical procedures, thirty-eight percent of respondents reported that they manage the care of patients in an inpatient setting and about one-quarter (24%) reported first-assisting at surgery. Nine percent of respondents reported supervising other PAs, and one in five (18%) reported supervising other clinical staff. More than one-third of respondents (35%) indicated that they precept PA students; one-fourth (24%) reported precepting students of other health professions.
- Work Status: The majority of clinically practicing respondents (85%) work full-time, defined as more than 32 hours per week, for their primary clinical employer.
- Hours Worked: The mean number of hours worked by the respondents who work more than 32 hours in a typical week is 44 the median is 41 hours.
- Patient Visits/Encounters: Due to the variety of work settings and specialty fields in which PAs practice, the types of patients PAs treat are quite varied. The vast majority (86%) of census respondents who work full-time see some outpatients in their primary job; the mean number of patient visits provided per week by PAs who see outpatients exclusively is 93. Over one-third of respondents who work full-time (44%) see some inpatients in their primary job; the mean number of patient encounters provided per week by respondents who see inpatients exclusively is 62. Six percent of respondents report seeing patients who can not be classified as inpatients or outpatients.
- Taking Call: Four in ten respondents (39%) reported taking call for their primary employer. The mean number of hours on call per month for those PAs who reported taking some call but who were not always on call is 94.
- Base Pay: The majority of respondents (81%) reported receiving their base pay in the form of a salary; 17 percent indicated that they receive an hourly wage.
- Compensation: Respondents reported receiving several additional forms of compensation from their primary employer. The most common form of additional compensation was a bonus not based on performance or productivity, reported by 21 percent of respondents. Nineteen percent of respondents reported receiving a bonus based on their own productivity or performance while 14 percent reported receiving overtime pay. Just under half (42%) of those who reported receiving incentive pay based on productivity or performance indicated that the incentive was based on revenue.
- Annual Income: The median total annual income from primary employer for respondents who work at least 32 hours per week for their primary employer and who are not self-employed is $82,223; the mean is $86,214. The comparable figures for respondents who graduated in 2006 are $71,825 and $73,013, respectively.
