Physician Assistant Schools
There are 146 accredited physician assistant schools in the country. As a professor or instructor of physician assistant classes at one of these schools, you play a fundamental role in shaping the future of this growing field. The trends in the physician assistant academic community can be evaluated by looking at the statistics and graphs below, which includes physician assistant training at the following levels:
- Physician Assistant Certificate
- Associates degree in Physician Assistant
- Bachelors degree in Physician Assistant
- M
Statistics
Professional Trends
National Employment growth for Physician assistant professionals
| 62,960 | 67,160 | 71,950 | 76,900 | 81,420 |
| 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
|---|
- Dark Yellow: Actual Values
81,420 physician assistant professionals were working in the US in the year 2010. This number has grown by 29% over the course of the past 4 years.
This growth is faster than the growth for all careers during the same time period. There was a 1% decline for all careers. Until 2018 this trend is expected to contine.
National Salary percentiles for Physician assistant professionals
10th percentile |
$57,450 |
25th percentile |
$73,040 |
50th percentile |
$86,410 |
75th percentile |
$101,690 |
90th percentile |
$117,720 |
Physician assistant professionals in the US earned a median salary of $86,410 per year in 2010. The median yearly salary for physician assistant professionals in the US was 28% more than that for all professions, which was $68,155 per year.
National Median Salary Growth For Physician Assistant
| $74,980 | $78,450 | $81,230 | $84,420 | $86,410 |
| 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
|---|
- Light Blue: Salaries
Physician assistant professionals' salaries have grown by 15% between the years 2006 and 2010.
Educational Trends
National Physician Assistant Student enrollment growth by degree
| 156 | 132 | 107 | 118 | 91 |
| 1,231 | 960 | 877 | 837 | 744 |
| 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 19 |
| 3,559 | 3,246 | 3,774 | 3,975 | 4,502 |
| 277 | 197 | 215 | 258 | 374 |
| 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
|---|
- Yellow: Associate's Degree in Physician Assistant
- Blue: Bachelor's Degree in Physician Assistant
- Red: Doctorates Degree in Physician Assistant
- Light blue: Master's Degree in Physician Assistant
- Grey: Certificate in Physician Assistant
The career outlook for physician assistant professionals is showing a rapid change. However, on the educational front, the story is quite different. In 2006, 5,223 students graduated from physician assistant degree programs in the US. In 2010, 5,730 students graduated from physician assistant schools.
Thus, in 4 years, there was a 10% growth in the number of physician assistant graduates. This growth in the number of students graduating from physician assistant courses is less than the change nationally for students graduating from institutions for higher education in general, which has been a 12% growth from 2006 to 2010.
Physician Assistant Programs offered Nationwide
associate |
4 |
bachelor |
31 |
master |
105 |
doctor |
1 |
Certificate |
11 |
| Total | 152 |
While student graduation numbers are up, the number of schools offering physician assistant programs has decreased. In 2006 there were 130 physician assistant schools across the nation, and in 2010, there were 146 schools.