Veterans Health Administration's Physician Assistant Primary Care Residency: An Evaluation of the First 3 Years.

Purpose: Results from an evaluation of a 12-month postgraduate Veterans Health Administration (VHA) residency in primary care for physician assistants (PAs).

Methods: Descriptive and open-ended data were collected to describe the experience of faculty and trainees participating in the first 3 years of this pilot residency. Quantitative data were summarized using descriptive statistics.

PA and NP productivity in the Veterans Health Administration.

This study assessed the 2014 clinical productivity of 5,959 physician assistants (PAs) and nurse practitioners (NPs) in the US Department of Veterans Affairs' Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Total work relative value units divided by the direct clinical full-time equivalent measured annual productivity, and correlated factors were examined using weighted analysis of variance. PAs and NPs in adult primary care roles were more productive than those in other specialties.

Physician assistants working in the Department of Veterans Affairs.

There is broad consensus among medical workforce analysts that the demand for physician assistants (PAs), physicians, nurses, allied health, and other medical providers has substantially increased since the late 1990s. While researchers tend to examine the deployment of various providers in private medical offices, they often overlook federally-employed PAs. Since the late 1980s, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has been a major employer of PAs.