|  Employment
Opportunities
Employment
opportunities for physician assistants exist in all specialties
and settings. Because of the reputation and history of the Duke
program, our graduates are in demand.
In
2006, the average starting salary for Duke PA graduates was
$69,000. The PA program provides employment placement counseling
and assistance for new graduates.
Members
of the Duke PA Class of 2006 are employed as physician assistants
in the following distribution:
- Primary
Care 46% (family medicine, pediatrics, ob/gyn, general internal
medicine)
- Surgery
11%
- Medicine
subspecialties 17%
- Other
specialties 26%
Certification
and Licensure
Graduates
of the PA program sit for the PA National Certifying Examination (PANCE) shortly
after graduation. This examination is required for initial licensing/registration
in all states. The first-time pass rates for the five most recent Duke PA graduating classes, in comparison to the national pass rates, are as follows:
| |
Duke PA first-time
taker pass rate |
National first-time
taker pass rate |
| |
|
|
| Class of 2006 |
100%
|
94% |
| Class of 2005 |
96%
|
91% |
| Class of 2004 |
95%
|
90% |
| Class of 2003 |
90%
|
89% |
| Class of 2002 |
89%
|
90% |
|
