What the letters mean
The C is the part that carries information. A PA earns the degree, is licensed by a state and is certified nationally by examination, and that certification is maintained on a cycle - so a PA whose certification has lapsed is still a PA but not a PA-C.
PAs train as generalists and specialise by employment, which is why the same credential turns up in surgery, emergency medicine, dermatology and primary care. The profession's national association prefers physician associate; licences and the public record still say physician assistant.
Physician assistants on the public record
Counted from what providers file about themselves, with suppression applied before anything is counted, refreshed 2026-10-05. Names, specialties and practice locations are public; work email and phone are for signed-in customers.
| State | On record | With work email | With practice phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 21,745 | 19,613 90% | 21,744 |
| California | 19,298 | 17,480 91% | 19,297 |
| Texas | 15,366 | 13,490 88% | 15,364 |
| Florida | 15,088 | 13,242 88% | 15,083 |
| Pennsylvania | 13,016 | 11,869 91% | 13,015 |
| North Carolina | 11,253 | 10,324 92% | 11,251 |
| Michigan | 8,720 | 7,850 90% | 8,720 |
| Georgia | 6,744 | 6,005 89% | 6,744 |
Closely related, and where to find them.
Closely related
- Physician assistant A generalist-trained licensed clinician who specialises by employment, and prescribes.
- NP Nurse practitioner - same credential everywhere, different scope in every state.
- CRNA Certified registered nurse anesthetist - much of the anaesthesia workforce.
Find them
- Physician assistants list counts by state, the fields a record carries, a sample record.
- NPs & PAs nurse practitioners and physician assistants together, the prescribers a physician list misses.
Need the list, not the definition?
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