Explosive Growth in British Physician Associate Education Since 2008

Tamara S Ritsema; Karen A Roberts; Jeannie S Watkins

doi:10.1097/JPA.0000000000000233

Explosive Growth in British Physician Associate Education Since 2008

J Physician Assist Educ. 2019 Mar;30(1):57-60. doi: 10.1097/JPA.0000000000000233.

Authors

Tamara S Ritsema¹, Karen A Roberts, Jeannie S Watkins

Affiliation

¹ Tamara S. Ritsema, MPH, MMSc, PA-C/R, is an assistant professor in the Department of Physician Assistant Studies at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, DC, and an adjunct senior lecturer in Physician Associate Education at the Institute of Medical and Biomedical Education at the St. George's, University of London, in London, England, in the United Kingdom. Karen A. Roberts, MS, PA-C/R, is a reader in Physician Associate Education at the Institute of Medical and Biomedical Education at the St. George's, University of London, in London, England, in the United Kingdom. Jeannie S. Watkins, PG Cert, PA-R, is a senior lecturer in Physician Associate Education at the Institute of Medical and Biomedical Education at the St. George's, University of London, in London, England, in the United Kingdom.

PMID: 30676532
DOI: 10.1097/JPA.0000000000000233

Abstract

Physician associate (PA) education in the United Kingdom has grown substantially since the establishment of 4 PA education programs in the late 2000s. From those 4 programs in 2008, the number of universities educating PAs fell to a nadir of 2 programs in 2012 and then rose to 29 by the end of 2017. Due to program closures, the number of students enrolled in the early years fluctuated substantially. In 2008, 43 students entered PA education; in 2010, only 17 students started PA training, but in 2017, the number of students enrolled in PA programs soared to 853. Early in the course of PA education, programs were only offered in the greater London and West Midlands areas of England. As of 2017, PAs were being educated in all 4 countries of the United Kingdom, although the explosive growth in the number of programs is expected to slow as 2020 nears.

MeSH terms

Certification
Humans
Physician Assistants / education*
Physician Assistants / statistics & numerical data*
Schools, Health Occupations / statistics & numerical data*
United Kingdom