The studies discussed in this installment of Research Corner illustrate the growing demand for PAs in the American health care workforce across a variety of settings.

The student selection process and curriculum are important in producing primary care physicians and physicians willing to serve in rural and underserved settings. Public and rural schools do a better job of producing primary care, rural, and health center physicians.

Recent studies indicate that specialty mobility is a strong factor for choosing a career as a physician assistant. Most PAs exercise this option at least once during their career.

Scotland recently conducted a pilot project utilizing physician assistants in which the impact of PAs was carefully studied, analyzed, and reported in great detail.

The PA profession in the United States was established and shaped by federal funding. The November 2008 issue of Academic Medicine is dedicated to describing the role of the Title VII Training in Primary Care Medicine and Dentistry Program and the Title VII diversity programs in the growth and development of primary care medicine and dentistry. This historical review is timely given the reemergence of severe primary care provider shortages.

Health care policy experts generally agree that the United States will face a medical provider shortage in the near future. In recent years, however, other developed nations have also recognized emerging health care provider shortages; and in many of these countries, the establishment of a PA-like profession is a serious option. Recent data suggest that worldwide physician shortages—and thus the establishment of additional PA-like professions outside the United States—are likely.

Since the PA profession has historically contributed a high proportion of its graduates to medical shortage areas, future shortage predictions have significant implications for the profession if these historical trends continue.

Recently, the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA) celebrated the 40th anniversary of PA education with a special commemorative issue of the Journal of Physician Assistant Education. This issue contains a generous collection of articles that describe many aspects of the PA profession in historical context.

As the utilization of PAs in the US health care workforce increases, questions persist as to how the PA profession impacts the delivery of care. These three presentations from the October 2007 PAEA Education Forum addressed PA workforce issues.

With the reporting of polling data from a survey recently commissioned by the American Academy of Physician Assistants, the question of patient attitudes toward physician assistants has been rekindled. This installment of Research Corner examines four such surveys conducted over four decades.