Jennifer Orozco, DMSc, PA-C: Raising Awareness on Importance of Physician Associates in the Medical Workforce

In an interview with HCPLive, Jennifer Orozco, DMSc, PA-C, DFAAPA, spoke on her presentation at the SDPA 20th Annual Fall Dermatology Conference regarding the growing importance of physician associates (PAs) in the current health system.

Orozco is the president and chair of American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA), as well as the director of Advanced Practice Providers at Rush University Medical Center.

“I think we're really at a tipping point in healthcare, really an unprecedented moment.“

"And I know we're tired of hearing that word, especially as we just lived through the COVID pandemic, but we truly are in a crisis," Orozco explained. "And we have major workforce shortages. We have overwhelmed, tired, burned-out providers, I have 98 million Americans 98 million without access to primary care, I have 157 million without access to mental health care, I have an aging population that's projected to be over the age of 65, almost 81 million will be over the age of 65.”

Orozco highlighted the significance of the numbers cited, explaining that the many physician associates in the US can be better utilized to meet the growing demands of the US health system.

“The good news is that I have 159,000 PAs who are ready and able and trained to take care of the US population needs, in partnership with so many others,” she said. “And they are projected, PAs are projected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, to grow almost 28% by 2031. And they are growing five times faster than any other profession.”

Orozco stressed the need to start doing things differently and utilizing PAs in better ways to meet the constantly-changing needs of patients.

To learn more about Dr. Orozco’s presentation at SDPA 2022, view this interview segment above.