Only about a quarter of physician assistants (PAs) practice in primary care and more are needed to enter primary care. In comparison, findings from this study found that nearly half of matriculating students entered with the intent to practice in primary care based on data from the 2013-2014 Physician Assistant Education Association Matriculating Student Survey (MSS).

This article identifies the characteristics of matriculating PA students planning to enter primary care specialties and compares them with students planning on entering other specialties.