The Future of Physician Assistant Education

Physician assistant (PA) education must be responsive to the ever-changing needs of society in order to produce well-qualified practition-ers who will be viewed as assets by their employers and the health care system. Because the future is difficult to predict, educational lead-ers must monitor economic, demographic, technologic, and other changes that are occurring at a rapid pace and adapt their curricula accordingly. This article reviews the profession’s history of future-oriented thinking and explores issues and trends that are likely to affect the profession and PA education in the future, in order to stimulate thinking about emerging changes on the horizon. Journal of Physician Assistant Education 2007;18(3):109-11