Inside Duke Medicine
Media Spotlight: Forbes names PA degree best master’s degree
posted May 20th, 2010
Forbes names PA degree best master's degree with the best salaries and employment prospects over the next decade. This article highlights the Duke PA Program -- the birthplace of the profession.
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Shane Tysinger had a lifelong interest in medicine, but the Davidson County, N.C., high school science teacher had only dabbled in health care, holding a couple of medical assistant jobs before becoming a teacher. At his school he was the first responder for any type of medical emergency.
In 2006, looking for a full-time career in medicine, Tysinger entered the two-year physician assistant master's program at Duke University--the birthplace of the physician assistant program. Good choice. Tysinger graduated in 2008, in the middle of a recession, but says there were jobs everywhere for students in his graduating class. Today he works in an Eden, N.C. clinic that focuses on family medicine. His salary has more than tripled from his days as a teacher. "I found the career I was meant to do," says Tysinger.
Look for more people to follow Tysinger back to school for a master's in physician assistant studies. The United States' new health care system will further exacerbate the shortage of doctors and increase the need for physician assistants who provide diagnostic and preventative health care services under the supervision of a doctor. Those job prospects--and the promise of hefty paychecks--put physician assistant degrees at the top of the heap in Forbes' first-ever look at the best master's degrees.
Kimberly Howard, a graduate of Duke's PA program and a PA in the Department of Thoracic Surgery, submitted an article to Forbes about her journey of becoming a PA.
Read her article: A Career Resection