ORIGINAL RESEARCH Characteristics of nurse practitioners and physician assistants in the United States Roderick S. Hooker, PhD, MBA, PA (Adjunct Professor) 1 , Douglas M. Brock, PhD (Associate Professor) 2 ,& Michelle L. Cook, MPH, PhD(c) (Associate Vice President of Research) 3 1 Northern Arizona University College of Health and Human Services, Phoenix Biomedical Campus, Phoenix, AZ 2 School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 3 AANP Network for Research, American Association of Nurse Practitioners, Austin, TX Keywords Nurse practitioners; physician assistants; healthcare delivery; healthcare collaboration. Correspondence Roderick S. Hooker, PhD, MBA, PA, 15917 NE Union Road, Unit 45, Ridgefield, WA 98642. Tel: 469/383-9133 (home); 682-552-7948 (cell); E-mail: rodhooker@msn.com Received: 17 March 2015; accepted: 19 June 2015 doi: 10.1002/2327-6924.12293 Abstract Background: Nurse practitioners (NP) and physician assistants (PA) serve as independent or semiautonomous providers and as fundamental members of healthcare teams. Purpose: Differentiating roles of health professionals is needed for optimal employment utilization. Clinically practicing PAs and NPs were characterized. Methodology: Data included wage and workforce projections to 2022.Variables included number practicing, age, gender, race, ethnicity, education, principal employer, practice specialty, and wages. Results: Health delivery establishments employed 88,110 PA and 113,370 NP clinicians in 2013. Both were predominantly female: NPs were older (49 years) on average than PAs (38 years). A significant number of them practiced in physi- cians’ offices or in acute care hospitals. Median wages were at parity. Growth predictions from 2012 to 2022 were 31%–35%. Conclusions: PAs and NPs constitute 20% of the composite clinician labor force (MD, DO, PA, NP). Labor market analysis suggests they are in demand. A major- ity of NPs and a third of PAs work in primary care fields. Their collective projected growth suggests a solution to emerging workforce shortages and an ability to help meet healthcare demands. Implications for practice: Adaptability to changing roles, especially in primary care and underserved areas, makes them facile responders to market demands in a continuously evolving healthcare environment. Introduction The delivery of medical services in the United States requires a large corps of health professionals. Now into the new century, physician assistants (PAs) and nurse practitioners (NPs) have emerged as key players in the modern healthcare delivery system. Together their em- ployment is substantial and their annual growth rivals that of allopathic and osteopathic physicians combined (Cooper, 2013). However, little information is available as to how they compare and if they are interchangeable. Various opinions arise as to whether PAs and NPs pro- vide similar or different roles in health delivery services (Chesluk & Homboe, 2010; Hing, Hooker, & Ashman, 2011; Margolius & Bodenheimer, 2010). Both provide services once the exclusive domain of physicians and are often employed in similar locations performing similar roles (Benitez, Coplan, Dehn, & Hooker, 2015; Hooker & Muchow, 2014). Useful examples include community health centers, prepaid managed care organizations, and the Veterans Affairs Medical Centers (Morgan, Everett, & Hing, 2014). What is less understood is whether there are meaningful differences between the two professions. A study examining the characteristics of NPs and PAs was undertaken. The objective was to explore the similarities and differences between the two health professions. Undertaking comparison research can improve service delivery if employers can substitute one for the other or incorporate both in team-based care. The research ques- tion was, “How do NPs and PAs overlap in distribution, roles, employment, wages, and other demographics?” C 2015 American Association of Nurse Practitioners 1