What are the prospects for a career as a physician assistant?
Employment of physician assistants is projected to grow much faster that average for all professions, increasing 27% from 2006 to 2016 (1). Health care facility expansion and the importance of containing costs will drive job growth. Job prospects are expected to be good, especially in clinics in rural and intercity areas. Job opportunities will be the best in areas that allow physician assists to perform a wider variety of tasks such as prescribing medications. There will also be job openings from the need to replace physician assistants who retire or leave the field for other reasons.
