According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, physician assistant employment is projected to increase 28% from 2023 to 2033, which is much faster than the average growth for all occupations.1 Approximately12,900 job openings for physician assistants are projected annually throughout these next 10 years.1 Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who change occupations or exit the workforce to retire.
Physician assistants held approximately 153,400 jobs in 2023, with the largest employers being offices of physicians, state, local and private hospitals, outpatient care centers, state, local and private educational services, and the government.1 The country’s growing and aging population will only continue to increase demand for healthcare services, which provides the impetus to train and hire more healthcare providers such as physician assistants, to provide many of the same services as physicians such as providing preventive care and treating those who are ill.
The knowledge and training you'll receive in the Master of Science, Health Science- Physician Assistant, will prepare you to capitalize on this growth in a number of career fields, including:
- Primary care, such as family medicine, internal medicine/hospitalist, pediatrics, women’s health and behavioral health
- Emergency medicine, to include emergent and urgent care
- Medical subspecialties, such as cardiology, neurology, critical care, and dermatology
- Surgery, such as include general, orthopedic, vascular, cardiothoracic and plastics
- Public health, health research, and public health policy
- Healthcare planning and healthcare administration
- Academia, at the undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate levels
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Physician Assistants, at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/physician-assistants.htm