Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Current Issue
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Early Access
    • Multimedia
    • Podcast
    • Collections
    • Past Issues
    • Articles by Subject
    • Articles by Type
    • Supplements
    • Plain Language Summaries
    • Calls for Papers
  • Info for
    • Authors
    • Reviewers
    • Job Seekers
    • Media
  • About
    • Annals of Family Medicine
    • Editorial Staff & Boards
    • Sponsoring Organizations
    • Copyrights & Permissions
    • Announcements
  • Engage
    • Engage
    • e-Letters (Comments)
    • Subscribe
    • Podcast
    • E-mail Alerts
    • Journal Club
    • RSS
    • Annals Forum (Archive)
  • Contact
    • Contact Us
  • Careers

User menu

  • My alerts

Search

  • Advanced search
Annals of Family Medicine
  • My alerts
Annals of Family Medicine

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Current Issue
  • Content
    • Current Issue
    • Early Access
    • Multimedia
    • Podcast
    • Collections
    • Past Issues
    • Articles by Subject
    • Articles by Type
    • Supplements
    • Plain Language Summaries
    • Calls for Papers
  • Info for
    • Authors
    • Reviewers
    • Job Seekers
    • Media
  • About
    • Annals of Family Medicine
    • Editorial Staff & Boards
    • Sponsoring Organizations
    • Copyrights & Permissions
    • Announcements
  • Engage
    • Engage
    • e-Letters (Comments)
    • Subscribe
    • Podcast
    • E-mail Alerts
    • Journal Club
    • RSS
    • Annals Forum (Archive)
  • Contact
    • Contact Us
  • Careers
  • Follow annalsfm on Twitter
  • Visit annalsfm on Facebook
Research ArticleOriginal Research

Physician Assistants in Primary Care: Trends and Characteristics

Bettie Coplan, James Cawley and James Stoehr
The Annals of Family Medicine January 2013, 11 (1) 75-79; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1370/afm.1432
Bettie Coplan
1Physician Assistant Program, College of Health Sciences, Midwestern University, Glendale Campus, Glendale, Arizona
MPASPA-C
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: bettie.coplan@nau.edu
James Cawley
2School of Public Health and Health Services and School of Medicine and Health Sciences, George Washington University, Washing ton, DC
MPHPA-C
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
James Stoehr
3Physician Assistant Program, College of Health Sciences, Midwestern University, Glendale Campus, Glendale, Arizona
PhD
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • eLetters
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF
Loading

Abstract

PURPOSE Physician assistants (PAs) have made major contributions to the primary care workforce. Since the mid-1990s, however, the percentage of PAs working in primary care has declined. The purpose of this study was to identify demographic characteristics associated with PAs who practice in primary care.

METHODS We obtained data from the 2009 American Academy of Physician Assistants’ Annual Census Survey and used univariate analyses, logistic regression analyses, and χ2 trend tests to assess differences in demographics (eg, age, sex, race) between primary care and non–primary care PAs. Survey respondents had graduated from PA school between 1965 and 2008.

RESULTS Of 72,433 PAs surveyed, 19,608 participated (27% of all PAs eligible to practice). Incomplete questionnaires were eliminated resulting in a final sample of 18,048. One-third of PAs reported working in primary care. Female, Hispanic, and older PAs were more likely to work in primary care practice. Trend tests showed a decline in the percentage of PAs working in primary care in the sample overall (average 0.3% decrease per year; P <.0001). In the cohort of 2004-2008 graduates, however, the percentage of primary care PAs increased slightly by an average of 0.9% per year (P = .02). Nonetheless, the low response rate of the census limits the ability to generalize these findings to the total population of PAs.

CONCLUSIONS Demographics associated with an increased likelihood of primary care practice among PAs appear to be similar to those of medical students who choose primary care. Knowledge of these characteristics may help efforts to increase the number of primary care PAs.

Key Words
  • physician assistants
  • workforce
  • primary health care
  • Received for publication November 23, 2011.
  • Revision received June 8, 2012.
  • Accepted for publication June 19, 2012.
  • © 2013 Annals of Family Medicine, Inc.
View Full Text
PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

The Annals of Family Medicine: 11 (1)
The Annals of Family Medicine: 11 (1)
Vol. 11, Issue 1
January/February 2013
  • Table of Contents
  • Index by author
  • In Brief
Print
Download PDF
Article Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on Annals of Family Medicine.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Physician Assistants in Primary Care: Trends and Characteristics
(Your Name) has sent you a message from Annals of Family Medicine
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the Annals of Family Medicine web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
2 + 0 =
Solve this simple math problem and enter the result. E.g. for 1+3, enter 4.
Citation Tools
Physician Assistants in Primary Care: Trends and Characteristics
Bettie Coplan, James Cawley, James Stoehr
The Annals of Family Medicine Jan 2013, 11 (1) 75-79; DOI: 10.1370/afm.1432

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Get Permissions
Share
Physician Assistants in Primary Care: Trends and Characteristics
Bettie Coplan, James Cawley, James Stoehr
The Annals of Family Medicine Jan 2013, 11 (1) 75-79; DOI: 10.1370/afm.1432
Twitter logo Facebook logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Jump to section

  • Article
    • Abstract
    • INTRODUCTION
    • METHODS
    • RESULTS
    • DISCUSSION
    • Footnotes
    • References
  • Figures & Data
  • eLetters
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF

Related Articles

  • PubMed
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • Local Economic Inequality and the Primary Care Physician Workforce in North Carolina
  • Expanding Primary Care Capacity By Reducing Waste And Improving The Efficiency Of Care
  • Impact of Physician Assistants on the Outcomes of Patients With Acute Myelogenous Leukemia Receiving Chemotherapy in an Academic Medical Center
  • In This Issue: How We Think and Feel Influences Patient Care
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Family-Based Interventions to Promote Weight Management in Adults: Results From a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial in India
  • Teamwork Among Primary Care Staff to Achieve Regular Follow-Up of Chronic Patients
  • Shared Decision Making Among Racially and/or Ethnically Diverse Populations in Primary Care: A Scoping Review of Barriers and Facilitators
Show more Original Research

Similar Articles

Subjects

  • Methods:
    • Quantitative methods
  • Other research types:
    • Health policy
    • Professional practice
  • Other topics:
    • Organizational / practice change

Keywords

  • physician assistants
  • workforce
  • primary health care

Content

  • Current Issue
  • Past Issues
  • Early Access
  • Plain-Language Summaries
  • Multimedia
  • Podcast
  • Articles by Type
  • Articles by Subject
  • Supplements
  • Calls for Papers

Info for

  • Authors
  • Reviewers
  • Job Seekers
  • Media

Engage

  • E-mail Alerts
  • e-Letters (Comments)
  • RSS
  • Journal Club
  • Submit a Manuscript
  • Subscribe
  • Family Medicine Careers

About

  • About Us
  • Editorial Board & Staff
  • Sponsoring Organizations
  • Copyrights & Permissions
  • Contact Us
  • eLetter/Comments Policy

© 2025 Annals of Family Medicine