Physician Assistants and the Underserved in Texas
An article from The Herald newspaper of Brownsville, Texas, talks about the positive effects of the University of Texas-Pan American's physician assistant program on health care in an underserved region of the state.
The Valley's shortage of healthcare providers is more severe than the national average, Sale said. Citing U.S. Census Bureau numbers, he said there is only one physician per 1,000 patients here, as opposed to one physician per every 400 patients across the country.
The physician assistant studies program started in 1994 as a cooperative program between the University of Texas Medical Branch-Galveston and UTPA. At that time the Valley only had about six practicing physician assistants.
Since then, UTPA has graduated about 225 physician assistants, with about 176 of them staying in the Valley, according to the university.
"This is a true success," Sale said.
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