Physician assistants from across the region will be attending a conference at Nazareth University on Friday.
One of the themes of the conference will be how physician assistants, or PAs, can help ease an ongoing shortage of healthcare providers.
The good news is, there seems to be no shortage of interest in the profession.
"We've already had well over 100 applications for a cohort size of 30 students," said Heather Grotke, director of Nazareth University's new physician assistant graduate degree program, which will be offering a mix of on-line and on-campus training beginning in January 2026.
Grotke said PAs are primed to alleviate provider shortages in emergency departments, primary care clinics, and behavioral health settings, especially in rural and under-served communities, where healthcare services are more limited.
"PAs have been shown to be more likely to work in these areas compared to physicians," she said.
Under current New York state law, physician assistants are required to work under the supervision of a physician. But efforts are underway to ease those requirements and expand physician assistants' autonomy. One bill introduced in the New York state Senate would allow a physician assistant with more than 6,000 hours of experience in primary care to practice without a supervising physician.
Physician assistant is considered one of the most in-demand careers of the next decade, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics projecting a 28% growth in employment. Recent job postings in the Rochester area listed salaries ranging between $112,000 and $166,000.
