Since 2000, Growth of North Carolina's Nurse Practitioners (NPs) and Physician Assistants (PA) Has Outpaced That of Physicians.
By Julie Spero, Evan Galloway
May 13, 2019
- The total number of NPs and PAs in North Carolina is less than the number of physicians, but new NPs and PAs are entering NC’s workforce faster than physicians are.
- Between 2000 and 2017, the NP workforce grew most rapidly, increasing by 216% in non-rural counties and by 187% in rural counties.
- After 2014, the gap in workforce growth between non-rural and rural counties widened for both physicians and PAs.
- For more background and information, see this article in the North Carolina Medical Journal.
Funding & Acknowledgements
The HPDS is maintained by the Program on Health Workforce Research and Policy at the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, in collaboration with the North Carolina Area Health Education Centers Program (AHEC), and the state’s independent health professional licensing boards. Ongoing financial support is provided by the NC AHEC Program Office. Although the NC HPDS maintains the data system, the data remain the property of their respective licensing board. This information or content and conclusions are those of the authors and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by NC AHEC. To learn more about NC AHEC please visit: https://www.ncahec.net.
