| Over the past decade, the growth rate of
nurse practitioners and physician assistants in North Carolina's
workforce outstripped the growth of physicians, says a recent
report released by the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services
Research. Between 1990 and 2001, nurse practitioners increased
their supply relative to the population at a rate seven times
faster than physicians, (183% compared to 24%) while physician
assistants increased at quadruple the physician growth rate
(104%). The report, "Trends in the Supply of Nurse Practitioners
and Physician Assistants in
North Carolina, 1990-2001", tracks the state’s supply of
nurse practitioners and physician assistants relative to physicians
in North Carolina’s rural and underserved areas.
The fastest growth in nurse practitioners and physician assistants
has been in the state’s 50 counties designated as underserved
areas. “This may be a sign that an increasing amount of care
in North Carolina’s rural areas is being provided to patients
by a nurse practitioner or a physician assistant,” said Erin
Fraher, assistant director of the Sheps Center and author of
the report.
In counties which have a persistent shortage of physicians,
the number of nurse practitioners has increased exponentially:
while only seven nurse practitioners worked per 100 physicians
in these underserved counties in 1990, 18 nurse practitioners
practiced per 100 physicians in 2001. Similarly, the number
of physician assistants rose from 14 for every 100 physicians
in 1990, to 21 in 2001.
“One of the contributing factors to the rising supply of nurse
practitioners and physician assistants is that North Carolina
has been a leader in the education and training of both physician
assistants and nurse practitioners”, said Fraher. The very first
physician assistant program in the United States was developed
at Duke University Medical
Center, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
established one of the first three family Nurse Practitioner
programs in the country. Today, four institutions in North Carolina
offer physician assistant education programs: Duke, Wake Forest
University, Methodist College, and East Carolina University.
Nurse practitioner programs are available at
seven schools around the state.
The fact sheet was produced by the NC Health Professions Data
and Analysis System at the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health
Services at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Data for the fact sheet were obtained from the North Carolina
Medical Board and the North Carolina Board of Nursing. In addition
to Fraher, John Shadle and Laura Smith served as co-authors.
An electronic copy of the fact sheet is available online at
www.shepscenter.unc.edu/hp.
Sheps Center Contact: Erin Fraher, MPP. (919) 966-5012
Cecil B. Sheps Center for Health Services Research
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
CB 7590, 725 Airport Rd
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7590
Submitted By: David
Yoder |
