Physician assistants have experienced a number of workforce changes amid the battle against COVID-19, with some being furloughed or laid off from their principal clinical position, and others changing specialties, according to a report published April 26.
The report, by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants, is based on a survey of 21,000 certified physician assistants in August and September 2020.
10 findings:
1. About 96 percent of physician assistants were working in at least one clinical position at the time of the survey, which was eight to nine months after the outbreak of the pandemic.
2. Among survey respondents who reported working clinically during the pandemic, 15.1 percent said they changed their practice setting.
3. About 12 percent of physician assistants were furloughed at the time of the survey or had been at some point during the pandemic.
4. About 4 percent of survey respondents reported being laid off from their principal clinical position.
5. Among physician assistants, 3.5 percent at the time of the survey said they contracted COVID-19 and were unable to work at some point during the pandemic.
6. More than 4 percent changed specialties because of coronavirus, and 2.8 percent changed specialties for reasons unrelated to the pandemic.
7. At the time of the survey, 2.2 percent of respondents who did not change specialties said they expect to do so in the next year because of COVID-19.
8. Nearly 10 percent of survey respondents who switched their specialty switched it to emergency medicine, while 8.3 percent switched to critical care medicine, and 7.8 percent switched to hospital medicine.
9. Among physician assistants who changed specialties, 34.3 percent said they plan on returning, while 32.1 percent do not.
10. Most survey respondents (89 percent) said they feel optimistic about their ability to continue caring for patients, and 82 percent said they appreciate the resilience and adaptability of their profession.
Read more about the survey here.