Message from the President and CEO

NCCPA is pleased to announce the release of the first annual Statistical Profile of Certified Physician Assistants by State. This document accompanies the Statistical Profile of Certified Physician Assistants published annually. We hope these state-level reports provide information that will be useful to certified physician assistants (PAs), policy makers, researchers, journalists, state medical boards, employers and the numerous other stakeholders who have an interest in the PA profession. It is interesting to see the differences and similarities in the numbers of PAs, their chosen specialty, practice settings, and demographic characteristics from state to state.

As with our previous reports, I hope, too, that these reports and those that follow contribute to ongoing dialogue within the PA profession about who we are and what we hope to become. For example, this report amplifies the need for serious attention to the issue of racial and ethnic diversity within the PA profession, an issue of concern to many of the profession’s leaders and members. Hopefully, these reports can be used by high school and college career counselors and others to increase awareness of the PA profession as a promising career choice for bright young people of all races and socioeconomic backgrounds.

We continue to be grateful to the tens of thousands of PAs who have taken time from their busy schedules to complete and update their PA Professional Profile, the database from which these reports are drawn. As of this writing, almost 90 percent of certified PAs have completed all or part of that Profile, an astonishing response rate for which we are deeply appreciative. The publication of this and other reports is intended to benefit the profession and the public, and that is only possible because PAs are willing to share their professional experiences with us.

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About the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants

The National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) is the only certifying organization for the over 150,000 PAs in the United States. The PA-C credential is awarded by NCCPA to PAs who fulfill certification, certification maintenance and recertification requirements. NCCPA also administers the Certificate of Added Qualifications (CAQ) program for experienced, Certified PAs practicing in seven specialties. For more information, please visit http://www.nccpa.net.