Physician Assistants a Force in Health Care
In response to your Jan. 5 article “Health Forecast in ‘93,” nurse practitioners were mentioned as a growing force in general medicine. While this is certainly true, one important aspect of national health care was omitted, physician assistants.
There are approximately 25,000 physician assistants practicing in the United States, with the majority of those in primary care medicine. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s Eighth Report to Congress entitled “Health Personnel in the United States” projects there will be approximately 54,000 physician assistants by the year 2020.
Additionally, several publications have ranked the physician assistant as one of the top 10 growth professions.
CHLOE MERITT
USC Physician Assistant
Class of 1994
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