--- title: Doximity Talent Finder Blog | reasons to hire a locum tenens physician assistant description: reasons to hire a locum tenens physician assistant | --- [Menu](https://blog.finder.doximity.info/topic/reasons-to-hire-a-locum-tenens-physician-assistant#footer) [![Doximity Talent Finder](https://assets.doxcdn.com/image/upload/fl_sanitize/logos/talent-finder/logo-talent-finder.svg)](https://www.doximity.com/talent_finder) [Sign In](https://www.doximity.com/talent_finder/sessions/new) [Contact](https://finder.doximity.com/contact) [Testimonials](https://finder.doximity.com/client_success) [Webinars](https://finder.doximity.com/webinars) [Blog](https://blog.finder.doximity.info/) [Doximity](https://finder.doximity.com/about) ## [The number of Physician Assistants has exploded. What are you doing to recruit them?](https://blog.finder.doximity.info/the-number-of-physician-assistants-has-exploded.-what-are-you-doing-to-recruit-them) Posted by [Doximity TF Team](https://blog.finder.doximity.info/author/doximity-tf-team) Monday, May 08 [![](https://blog.finder.doximity.info/hubfs/Blog_Photos/Recruiting-PAs/PA-and-doctor-850px.png)](https://blog.finder.doximity.info/the-number-of-physician-assistants-has-exploded.-what-are-you-doing-to-recruit-them) Did you know that physician assistants (PAs) go back to the mid 1960’s? The return of medically trained and skilled Navy corpsmen during the Vietnam-war era coincided with a U.S. shortage of primary care physicians – especially in rural areas – and PAs began practicing alongside physicians. The 1967 graduating class of the original PA program at Duke University had four corpsmen, and in 1968, the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) was founded. [Read More](https://blog.finder.doximity.info/the-number-of-physician-assistants-has-exploded.-what-are-you-doing-to-recruit-them) Filed under [Recruiting physician assistants](https://blog.finder.doximity.info/topic/recruiting-physician-assistants), [reasons to hire a locum tenens physician assistant](https://blog.finder.doximity.info/topic/reasons-to-hire-a-locum-tenens-physician-assistant), [Why demand for PAs is high](https://blog.finder.doximity.info/topic/why-demand-for-pas-is-high), [Recruit PAs to fill gaps in patient care](https://blog.finder.doximity.info/topic/recruit-pas-to-fill-gaps-in-patient-care) [All Posts](https://blog.finder.doximity.info/all) ### Search Our Blog --- ### About Us Hire the right physicians on Doximity, the largest professional medical network. Get up to speed on physician recruiting news and best practices from the Doximity Talent Finder Team.  ---   ### Webinars Join us each month as we deep dive into a specific topic in healthcare recruiting, combining outside research and news with our own proprietary data and best practices. Webinars are free and open to everyone. [![View Calendar](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/354005/4d6a897d-1de7-42b5-904a-966f658edc7a.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/354005/4d6a897d-1de7-42b5-904a-966f658edc7a) ---   ### Recent Posts ### Subscribe to Email Updates © 2026 Doximity, Inc. [Doximity](https://www.doximity.com/talent_finder/about) [Blog](https://blog.finder.doximity.info/) [Testimonials](https://finder.doximity.com/client_success) [Webinars](https://finder.doximity.com/webinars) [Demo](https://finder.doximity.com/demo)[Terms of Service](https://www.doximity.com/terms-of-service)[Privacy](https://www.doximity.com/clinicians/privacy) ![](https://dc.ads.linkedin.com/collect/?pid=421618&fmt=gif)