Underrepresentation of Black Men in Physician Assistant and Associate Training

The underrepresentation of Black men in the health care workforce, particularly among physician assistants and associates (PAs), represents a missed opportunity to alleviate shortages of health care professionals and enhance workforce diversity. Increasing the number of Black men in the training pipeline could significantly benefit education, patient care, and overall health outcomes.

To analyze patterns from 2013 to 2021 among Black men applying to and matriculating into PA programs and compare these figures with the age-specific US population of Black men.

This cohort study assessed deidentified application and matriculation data from the Central Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA) for PA training programs in the US, alongside US Census data. CASPA applicants reporting race and gender identities as Black male were included. Data were obtained March 10, 2023, from the 2012-2013 to the 2020-2021 application cycles; data were analyzed from June 2023 to May 2024.

Black male applicants and matriculation.

Patterns and proportion of Black male applicants and matriculants to PA programs relative to total rates and expected numbers.

From 2013 to 2021, PA programs grew 64.3%, with an increase in applicants from 19 761 to 30 196 and matriculants from 6192 to 11 115. Despite this growth, the representation of Black men among applicants (from 435 to 732) and matriculants (from 73 to 156) remained stagnant, averaging 2.2% and 1.2%, respectively, significantly lower than their 8.7% (3 920 231 individuals aged 20-29 years) representation in the US Census. In 2021, the matriculation rate for Black men (156 of 732 [21.3%]) was notably lower than the matriculation rate for all applicants (11 115 of 30 196 [36.8%]). Based on the expected proportion of Black men in the PA applicant age range, there should have been 2641 applicants (actual: 732) and 972 matriculants (actual: 156) across 308 PA programs in 2021; these numbers indicate that, per program, approximately 9 applicants would have to have been evaluated and 3 matriculated to achieve parity, in contrast to the mean of 2 applicants and 1 matriculant per 2 programs.

In this cohort study of PA applicants and matriculants, Black men remained substantially underrepresented despite overall growth of PA training programs. The low representation among matriculants was due in part to the low numbers of applicants but also to substantially lower matriculation success. This persistent underrepresentation highlights systemic barriers and underscores the need for targeted interventions to achieve a more representative health care workforce. To achieve equitable admissions, each PA program should aim to evaluate 9 Black male applicants and matriculate 3 Black men annually.