In the United States, the profession is represented by the American Academy of Physician Assistants, and all PAs must graduate from a nationally accredited ARC-PA program as well as passing the national certification exam. Physician assistants have their own medical licenses with distinct scope of practice. Each of the 50 states has different laws regarding the prescription of medications by mid-level practitioners (which include PAs) and the licensing authority granted to …show more content…
In the 2008 AAPA census, 56 percent of responding PAs worked in physicians' offices or clinics and 24 percent were employed by hospitals. The remainder were employed in public health clinics, nursing homes, schools, prisons, home health care agencies, and the United States Department of Veterans Affairs Fifteen percent of responding PAs work in counties classified as non-metropolitan by Economic Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture; approximately 17% of the US population resides in these