Editing Physician assistant (section)

== History ==
In 1961, Charles Hudson recommended that the [[American Medical Association]] create new medical provider certifications. [[Eugene A. Stead]] of the [[Duke University]] Medical Center assembled the first class of physician assistants in 1965, composed of four former [[United States Navy|US Navy]] [[Hospital Corpsman|Hospital Corpsmen]].<ref>{{cite journal |first1=J A |last1=Braun |first2=D R |last2=Howard |first3=L R |last3=Pondy |title=The physician's associate-a task analysis |journal=[[American Journal of Public Health]] |date=December 1973 |volume=63 |number=12 |pages=1024–1028 |doi=10.2105/AJPH.63.12.1024|pmid=4148535 |pmc=1775358 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://pahx.org/stead-jr-eugene |title=Eugene A. Stead, Jr., MD |publisher=PA History Society |access-date=19 June 2016}}</ref> He based the curriculum of the PA program on his first-hand knowledge of the fast-track training of medical doctors during [[World War II]].<ref name="aapa.org">{{cite web |url=http://www.aapa.org/threeColumnLanding.aspx?id=429 |title=History of the PA Profession |publisher=American Academy of Physician Assistants |access-date=26 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141226234522/http://www.aapa.org/threeColumnLanding.aspx?id=429 |archive-date=2014-12-26 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Two other physicians, Richard Smith at the [[University of Washington]], and Hu Myers at [[Alderson Broaddus University|Alderson-Broaddus College]] launched their own programs in the mid-late 1960s. J. Willis Hurst started the [[Emory University]] Physician Assistant Program in 1967.

The Liberian model of PAs was a curriculum intended for graduates to work in areas absent of physicians as physician substitutes.  Advisors for this program included UNICEF, American physicians, and Agnes N. Dagbe, MS, RN, a Liberian nurse educated in the US.  Additional training was done in the USSR.  The Liberian government inaugurated the program in 1965 with Dagbe as PA program.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Oliphant|first1=John|last2=Kennedy|first2=Jallah|title=The PA profession in Liberia: A case study in pioneering innovation and resiliency|doi=10.1097/01.JAA.0000873788.94386.1b|journal=JAAPA|volume=35|issue=10|date=October 2022|pages=56–61|pmid=36165551 |s2cid=252534492 |url=https://journals.lww.com/jaapa/Fulltext/2022/10000/The_PA_profession_in_Liberia__A_case_study_in.14.aspx|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

Beginning in January 1971,<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.paeaonline.org/index.php?ht=action/GetDocumentAction/i/25103 |title=Military Physician Assistants: Their Background And Education |first1=Judith E. |last1=Colver |first2=J. Dennis |last2=Blessing |first3=Jason |last3=Hinojosa |journal=Journal of Physician Assistant Education |date=2007 |volume=18 |issue=3 |pages=40–45 |doi=10.1097/01367895-200718030-00005|url-access=subscription }}</ref> the US Army produced eight classes of physician assistants, at 30 students per class, through the [[United States Army Medical Department Center and School|Academy of Health Sciences]], [[Brooke Army Medical Center#Brooke Army Medical Center|Brooke Medical Center]] (academically accredited by [[Baylor University]]).

In 2017, approximately 68% of physician assistants in the United States were women and approximately 32% were men.<ref>{{Cite web|title=2017 Statistical Profile of Certified Physician Assistants: An Annual Report of the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants.|url=https://prodcmsstoragesa.blob.core.windows.net/uploads/files/2017StatisticalProfileofCertifiedPhysicianAssistants%206.27.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201222212015/https://prodcmsstoragesa.blob.core.windows.net/uploads/files/2017StatisticalProfileofCertifiedPhysicianAssistants%206.27.pdf|archive-date=2020-12-22|access-date=2021-04-03|website=}}</ref>

The profession expanded globally. It can now be found in Afghanistan, Australia, Canada, Germany, Ghana, India, Israel, Liberia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, and the United Kingdom. As a profession, physician assistants have greatly influenced the theory and conceptualization of socially accountable health professional education.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kerlon |first1=Ando |last2=Forde |first2=Allan |last3=Preston |first3=Robyn |title=Social Accountability of the Physician Assistant: A Fit-for-Purpose Health Workforce |journal=The Journal of Physician Assistant Education |date=March 2016 |volume=1 |issue=27 |pages=43–46 |doi=10.1097/JPA.0000000000000053 |pmid=26894952 |s2cid=9265616 }}</ref>