Physician assistants in psychiatry: Helping to meet America’s mental health needs
Current Psychiatry. 2019 September;18(9):17-20,24
September 1, 2019|Psychiatry
Author and Disclosure Information
Well-trained PAs can help alleviate the psychiatrist shortage and improve patient care.
Bottom Line
Physician assistants (PAs) who choose to specialize in psychiatry will find enormous opportunity, as the need for well-trained and knowledgeable mental health providers is acute. Those PAs who obtain additional training and/or certification in psychiatry will be highly valued and sought-after, with an abundance of job opportunities. Physician assistant programs should continue to improve didactic and clinical training for their students in psychiatry, and encourage increased numbers of PAs to consider psychiatry as a career path.
Related Resources
- National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants. Psychiatry Certificate of Added Qualifications. https://www.nccpa.net/psychiatry.
- Association of Physician Assistants in Psychiatry. https://psychpa.com/.
