PROTECTING, MAINTAINING AND IMPROVING THE HEALTH OF ALL MINNESOTANS
Office of Rural Health and Primary Care
Published January, 2019
Minnesota’s Physician Assistant (PA) Workforce
2PROTECTING, MAINTAINING AND IMPROVING THE HEALTH OF ALL MINNESOTANS
4/22/2020
Contents and Quick Links
Introduction
Summary of Findings
Introduction to the Physician Assistant (PA) Workforce
Demographics
Demographics: Sex and Age
Demographics: Race and Ethnicity
Demographics: Languages Spoken in Practice
Education
Education: Educational Attainment
Education: MN Graduates
Employment
Employment: Employment & Hours Worked
Employment: Future Plans
At Work
Physician Assistants at Work: Specialties
Physician Assistants at Work: Work Settings
Physician Assistants at Work: EHRs and Telemedicine
Physician Assistants at Work: Teamwork
Physician Assistants at Work: Cultural Competence
Physician Assistants at Work: Career Satisfaction
Geographic Distribution
Geographic Distribution: Two Ways to Present Geography
Geographic Distribution: by Planning Area
Geographic Distribution: by Rurality
End Notes and Methodology
Methodology
Notes
3PROTECTING, MAINTAINING AND IMPROVING THE HEALTH OF ALL MINNESOTANS
4/22/2020
Introduction to Minnesota’s
Physician Assistant (PA) Workforce
• Physician assistants (PAs) are health care professionals who work under the supervision of physicians. They often work in primary care clinics where they
conduct physicals and prescribe medications, but they may specialize in any branch of medicine. PAs serve an essential role on a health care team, filling gaps
in services that result from shortages of physicians. PAs must graduate from an accredited educational physician assistant program. Learn more about PAs’
legal scope of practice in Minnesota at the Office of the Reviser of Statutes.
• According to the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice, there were 3,209 actively licensed Minnesota PAs as of September, 2019. Of that total, 394 listed a
practice address that was either outside Minnesota or otherwise could not be located within the state. Based on survey responses, we also know that 1.9% of
the total licensees were not working as an PA. (See more about our data and methodology.)
• The PA workforce is quite young, with nearly half of all PAs under the age of 35 (see slide 4). An estimated 82 percent of PAs report that they plan to practice
for at least 10 more years (slide 10).
• Less than one-fourth of Minnesota PAs earned their degree in Minnesota; another 29 percent earned their degrees in states bordering Minnesota (see slide
8). The share of PAs that are educated in Minnesota may increase in the coming years as new PA programs have opened recently in three Minnesota schools.
• The large majority of PAs (92 percent) are white (slide 5), and just under 90 percent speak only English in their practice (slide 6).
• PAs typically work a 40-hour work week and spend the majority of their time doing patient care (slide 9). The single most common specialty among PAs is
family medicine (slide 11).
• Most PAs report being either “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with their careers, both in the last 12 months and overall (slide 16).
• Like most other health professionals, PAs are overrepresented in the metropolitan areas of the state (see slides 18 and 19).
4
Demographics: Sex and Age
• An estimated 41 percent of PAs in Minnesota are under the age of 35. The large share of young professionals entering the field is good news for Minnesota,
particularly as more physicians retire. (PAs’ work must be supervised by a physician, a physician may supervise up to five PAs at a time.)
• Data not shown: With a few exceptions, health care professions are predominantly female, and this is true for physician assistants as well. Approximately 73 percent
of all Minnesota PAs are female, and among the youngest new cohort of PAs, eight out of ten are female.
41%
33%
15%
9%
2%
34 and younger
35 to 44
45 to 54
55 to 64
65 and older
Age of Minnesota Physician Assistants
Source: Minnesota Board of Medical Practice, November 2019. Analysis done by MDH. Percentages are based on all 3,209 Minnesota licensed PAs who provided valid birth dates to the licensing board.
5
Demographics: Race and Ethnicity
Source: MDH Physician Assistant Workforce Questionnaire, 2018. The chart is based on 2,647 valid responses.
• Typical of racial patterns among health care professionals, the majority (92.1 percent) of PAs indicated they were white. There were small shares of PAs identifying as
Asian or Hispanic/Latinx, and even smaller shares identifying as other races.
Race of Minnesota Physician Assistants
1%
2%
0.2%
0.5%
1.0%
1.0%
2.9%
92.1%
Other
Multiple Races
American Indian
Middle Eastern/North African
African/African American
Hispanic/Latinx
Asian
White
6
Demographics: Languages Spoken in Practice
Source: MDH Physician Assistant Workforce Questionnaire, 2018. Respondents could select as many languages as applicable, but were instructed not to include languages spoken only through an interpreter. The
chart is based on 2,575 valid survey responses.
• The majority of physician assistants—just under 90 percent—spoke only English in their practices. The second most commonly spoken language was Spanish. Very
few physician assistants spoke other languages such as French, Vietnamese, Hmong or Somali with their patients.
Languages Spoken by Minnesota Physician Assistants in their Practices
89.9%
6.8%
0.5% 0.5%
0.4%
0.3% 0.3%
0.2%
2.0%
English only Spanish French Vietnamese Hmong Somali Russian Sign Language Other
7
Education: Educational Attainment
Source: MDH Physician Assistant Workforce Questionnaire, 2018. Percentages are based on 2,646 valid responses.
• A master’s degree is now the minimum requirement for licensure as a PA, and 78.3 percent of the workforce holds this degree. Among PAs who are age 34 or
younger, virtually all hold a master’s degree or above.
• Data not shown above: When asked how likely they were to pursue additional training or credentials to advance in their field, only about 6 percent of PAs said
they were “very likely” to enroll (5.8 percent) or were “currently enrolled” (1.2 percent) in a training program.
Educational Attainment of Physician Assistants
1.8%
3.4%
78.3%
7.5%
6.7%
1.7%
0.7%
Doctorate or professional degree
Post-master's credential
Master's degree
Post-bachelor's credential
Bachelor's degree
Post-associate credential
Associate degree or less
8
Education: Minnesota Graduates
• Based on data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education System, Minnesota institutions produced 84 new PA graduates in 2017. Within the last five
years, two new PA programs have opened in Minnesota (Bethel University and Saint Catherine’s University). All three existing PA programs are in the Twin
Cities metropolitan area, however, potentially leaving gaps in the rural supply of PAs.
• Data not shown above: To date, 23.8 percent of PAs earned their highest degree in Minnesota. An additional 29.1 percent of all PAs were educated in one
of Minnesota’s four border states—Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota or Wisconsin. At least until now, Minnesota has imported far more PAs than it has
trained.
Physician Assistant Program Graduates, by Year
Source: National Center of Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Educational Data System (IPEDS).
Physician Assistant Program Graduates, by Year
Region Institution 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Twin Cities Augsburg 25 28 33 30 23
Twin Cities Bethel 0 0 0 31 30
Twin Cities Saint Catherine’s 0 0 24 32 31
Total 25 28 57 93 84
9
Employment: Employment & Hours Worked
Source: MDH Physician Assistant Workforce Questionnaire, 2018. Percentages are based on 2,566 valid responses.
• The median work week for physician assistants was 40 hours, and about half of all PAs worked between 31 and 40 hours per week.
• Data not shown above: An estimated 98.1 percent of Minnesota licensed physician assistants reported on the MDH questionnaire that they were “working in a paid or unpaid
position related to [their] license.” This indicates that the vast majority of the potential PA workforce is being utilized. In addition, PAs spend the majority of their time caring
for patients: 80 percent reported on the MDH survey that they spent more than three-quarters of their time providing direct patient care. This is another indication that PAs
are being fully utilized professionally.
Hours Worked in a Typical Week
2%
3%
9%
53%
27%
6%
2%
10 or less 11-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 More than 60
10
Employment: Future Plans
Source: MDH Physician Assistant Workforce Questionnaire, 2018. Percentages are based on 2,596 valid responses.
• Just 6 percent of Minnesota PAs indicated that they planned to leave the field within five years, whereas 82 percent reported that they planned to continue practicing for
at least ten more years, reflecting the stability (and relative youth) of this profession.
• Data not shown above: Among the six percent planning to leave, the majority (64 percent) said their reason for leaving was to retire. Another 12 percent planned to leave
the field due to burnout or dissatisfaction, followed by 10 percent who said they planned to leave for family or personal reasons.
“How long do you plan to continue practicing as a physician assistant in Minnesota?”
82%
12%
6%
More than 10 years
6 to 10 years
5 years or less
11
Physician Assistants at Work: Specialties
Source: MDH Physician Assistant Workforce Questionnaire, 2018. Percentages are based on 2,655 valid responses.
• The survey asked physician assistants to identify all the medical specialties they practiced. As shown above, the most commonly reported specialty was family
medicine, with just over 28 percent of PAs identifying this specialty.
• However, the largest share of PAs reported that they had another specialty not included in the selection list. Based on open-ended responses, PAs’ most
common “other” specialties were critical/urgent care/emergency medicine; cardiology; gastroenterology; orthopedics; and urology.
Physician Assistant Specialties
Specialty
Share of PAs who report
practicing this specialty
Family Medicine 28.4%
Internal Medicine 9.3%
General Surgery 3.8%
Other Surgery 16.6%
Dermatology 2.3%
Psychiatry 1.7%
OB/GYN 1.3%
Other 40.7%
12
Physician Assistants at Work: Work Settings
• Data not shown above: The survey asked PAs to identify their primary work setting. Much like physicians, PAs frequently split their time between two, three, or even
more work settings. About half of PAs reported working in one setting; approximately 27 percent reported splitting their time across two settings, and another 25
percent said they worked at three or more different settings The table above shows results for primary settings only (see footnote for more details).
• The table above shows nearly all PAs work in either a traditional clinic or hospital setting (93 percent total).
Physician Assistants’ Primary Work Settings
Source: MDH Physician Assistant Workforce Questionnaire, 2018. The questionnaire includes questions on both the “primary” and “secondary” settings in which providers work. Above, we present data only on the
“primary” setting. An analysis of PA’s work settings indicates that setting type did not differ substantially across primary and secondary types. The chart above is based on 2,476 survey responses.
Setting
Share of PAs Working
in this Setting
Clinic/Professional Office/Health Center/Ambulatory Care
64.6%
Hospital
28.5%
Academic (Teaching/Research)
3.6%
Community/Faith-Based Organization
0.6%
Long-Term Care Facility
0.5%
Correctional Facility
0.3%
State, County, or City Agency
0.2%
Other
1.4%
13
Physician Assistants at Work: EHRs and Telemedicine
Source: MDH Physician Assistant Workforce Questionnaire, 2018. Percentages are based on 2,587 valid responses.
• The 2018 survey included items about the use of both electronic health records (EHRs) and dedicated telemedicine equipment. The results showed that the vast majority of
PAs use EHRs “all the time,” but most do not use telemedicine equipment regularly.
PAs’ Use of Electronic Health Records and Telemedicine Equipment
0.5%
74.8%
0.7%
17.6%
2.4%
4.2%
96.4%
3.4%
How often do you use electronic health records or similar
patient/client electronic records?
How often do you diagnose or consult with patients or
clients in real-time using dedicated telemedicine
equipment?
Never
Occasionally
Frequently
All the time
14
Physician Assistants at Work: Teamwork
Source: MDH Physician Assistant Workforce Questionnaire, 2018. Percentages are based on 2,645 valid responses.
• Health care providers increasingly work in multidisciplinary teams, prompting educators and health policymakers to ask how best to train providers to communicate
and coordinate across professions. MDH included a question on its 2017 survey to shed light on these concerns. As shown above, more than half of Minnesota PAs
reported that learning on the job (either informal or formal) best prepared them to work in multidisciplinary teams.
“Which of the following work or educational experiences best prepared you to work
in a multidisciplinary team when providing care?”
1%
2%
3%
14%
27%
54%
Does not apply to my job
None
Continuing education/professional development
Formal educational coursework or training
Formal on-the-job training
Informal learning on the job
15
Physician Assistants at Work: Cultural Competence
Source: MDH Physician Assistant Workforce Questionnaire, 2018. Percentages are based on 2,645 valid responses.
• PAs most commonly indicated that formal or informal learning on the job (as opposed to training or education) provided the best preparation for working
with diverse groups of patients.
“Which of the following work or educational experiences best prepared you to
provide culturally competent care?”
0%
3%
7%
15%
22%
54%
Does not apply to my job
None
Continuing education/professional development
Formal educational coursework or training
Formal on-the-job training
Informal learning on the job
16
Physician Assistants at Work: Career Satisfaction
• The questionnaire included questions on career satisfaction in the past 12 months and overall. As shown above, the majority of PAs indicated that they were either “very
satisfied” or “satisfied” with their careers both in the past 12 months and overall.
• PAs were slightly more likely to report being very satisfied with their career overall compared to the last 12 months—a trend typical among health care professionals for which
work satisfaction data is available. This is consistent with national findings which suggest that the increase in administrative work—such as dealing with billing, insurance, and
electronic medical records—has dampened work satisfaction among health care providers.
How satisfied have you been with your career….
Source: MDH Physician Assistant Workforce Questionnaire, 2018. Percentages are based on 2,600 valid responses.
43%
50%
6%
2%
53%
43%
2%
1%
Very satisfied Satisfied Dissatisfied Very dissatisfied
In the last 12 months?
Overall?
18
Geographic Distribution: by Planning Area
• Slightly over half of all PAs work in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metro area. Another 14 percent of PAs work in the Southeast region, reflecting the substantial pull of the Mayo
Clinic in Rochester.
5%
5%
7%
10%
14%
59%
Southwest Minnesota
Northeast Minnesota
Northwest Minnesota
Central Minnesota
Southeast Minnesota
Minneapolis-Saint Paul
Share of Physician Assistants by State Planning Area
Source: Minnesota Board of Medical Practice provides practice addresses to MDH. The chart above is based on 2,774 valid Minnesota practice addresses.
19
Geographic Distribution: by Rurality
• The chart above provides another view of the geographic distribution of physician assistants, showing the share of the population for every one PA in urban, large
town, small town rural, and isolated rural areas. As shown, there are 1,748 people for every PA in metropolitan areas of Minnesota, compared to 4,861 in isolated rural
areas of the state. This pattern is typical of other health care professions, and reflects the relative inaccessibility of care in sparsely populated areas of Minnesota.
Minnesota Population-to-PA Ratio, by Level of Rurality
Source: Minnesota Board of Medical Practice provides practice addresses to MDH. The chart above is based on 2,774 valid Minnesota practice addresses.
4,861
2,682
2,525
1,748
Isolated Rural
Small Town Rural
Large Town
Metropolitan
20
Methodology
The data in this report come from two sources:
• The Minnesota Board of Medical Practices (BMP) provides data on the entire population of physician assistants who have
active licenses in the state of Minnesota. The BMP maintains this database primarily for administrative purposes. BMP
provides the data to the Minnesota Department of Health, Office of Rural Health and Primary Care (MDH-ORHPC). This report
uses data current as of September, 2019. At that time, there were a total of 3,209 physician assistants with active Minnesota
licenses, approximately 91.6 percent of whom indicated that their primary business address was in Minnesota. (Note that the
analyses exclude physicians whose licenses were active/restricted or active/conditional.) Analysts at the Minnesota
Department of Health-Office of Rural Health and Primary Care clean organize, clean, and geocode addresses that come from
the board, which is how we can identify practice locations (shown in Slides 19 and 20).
• The 2018 Minnesota Department of Health-Office of Rural Health and Primary Care (MDH-ORHPC) Physician Assistant
Workforce Survey collects additional demographic and workforce data from physicians. MDH-ORHPC administered the survey
to all physicians who renewed their Minnesota license in the calendar year of 2018. The response rate was approximately 83
percent.
21
Notes
Visit our website at
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/orhpc/workforce/reports.html
to learn more about the Minnesota health care workforce.
County-level data for this profession is available at
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/orhpc/workforce/database/
Minnesota Department of Health
Office of Rural Health and Primary Care
85 East 7
th
Place, Suite 220
Saint Paul, MN 55117
(651) 201-3838
health.orhpc@state.mn.us
Suggested citation: Physician Assistant Fact Sheet, February 2019. Minnesota
Department of Health, Office of Rural Health and Primary Care.
