Physicians finding plenty of NPs, PAs -- but at a price

Physician extenders are pouring out of schools at near-record numbers, and the demand for their services is keeping up.

By Mike Norbut, AMNews staff. May 5, 2003.

The rising supply of nurse practitioners and physician assistants not only has made it easier for office-based physicians to recruit them, but it also has allowed practices to create specific job descriptions and land the candidates they wa

It is not just an employer's market, however. Because the demand for physician extenders is keeping up with the supply, physicians aren't finding many bargain-basement deals.

With their graduation numbers increasing, nurse practitioners and physician assistants are becoming more plentiful, and with their clinical roles expanding, their versatility and cost effectiveness make them attractive to practices.

NPs and PAs are becoming more specialized, making them desirable to multispecialty groups and primary care practices alike.

Practices often look to these extenders to fill a specific niche.

PCC Community Wellness Center, a collection of three federally qualified health centers based in Oak Park, Ill., just west of Chicago, is looking for a bilingual nurse practitioner to specialize in diabetes care, said Mark Loafman, MD, MPH, a family ph