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The future of the physician assistant movement

Roderick S Hooker
Med J Aust 2010; 192 (3): . || doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2010.tb03445.x
Published online: 1 February 2010

Two phenomena are shaping physician assistants and their futures: change in human societies and change in health care delivery

The physician assistant (PA) is a global phenomenon: a product of medicine that enjoys unparalleled success within the health profession in many societies. Born in the 1960s, nurtured in the 1970s, and grown in the 1980s, the PA proved to be a capable player in American health policy in the 1990s. By 2000, the PA had emerged in a handful of countries, and by 2015, PAs will surpass 100 000 worldwide.1


  • 1 University of North Texas Health Science Center, School of Public Health, Fort Worth, Tex, USAUniversity of North Texas Health Science Center, School
  • 2 Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Dallas, Tex, USA


Correspondence: roderick.hooker@va.gov

  • 1. Hooker RS, Cawley, JF, Asprey DA. Physician assistants: policy and practice, 3rd ed. Philadelphia: FA Davis, 2010.
  • 2. Dal Poz MR, Kinfu Y, Drager S, et al. Counting health workers: definitions, data, methods and global results. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2006.
  • 3. Scheffler RM. Is there a doctor in the house? Market signals and tomorrow’s supply of doctors. San Francisco: Stanford University Press, 2008.
  • 4. Scott ML, Whelan A, Dewdney J, Zwi AB. “Brain drain” or ethical recruitment? Solving health workforce shortages with professionals from developing countries. Med J Aust 2004; 180: 174-176. <MJA full text>
  • 5. Mullan F. The metrics of the physician brain drain. N Engl J Med 2005; 353: 1810-1818.
  • 6. Murphy B. Medical role substitutions and delegations — overcoming the fear. Aust Health Rev 2007; 31 Suppl 1: S20-S24.

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