The 2023 Alumni Survey was sent out in December to 441 email addresses collected from classes 2001-2022. 115 responded in the time frame, equating to a 26% response rate. The largest responders belonged to the classes 2019-2022 (46% of respondents). All but three respondents were working as a PA at the time of the survey, with personal choice being the most cited reason for not continuing in practice. Most were working in clinical practice full-time (83%) in a hospital or office-based practice (66%). While most respondents were still practicing in Missouri, alumni report practicing in 23 other states. Many of the alumni are working in medically underserved areas, Federally Qualified Health Centers, and Health Provider Shortage Areas (44%).

Alumni are mainly working in internal medicine (18%) or surgical (20%), or emergency medicine (20%) specialties, followed closely by family practice (14%). A large majority (95%) of alumni are satisfied with their decision to become a PA, although 88% of respondents did admit to experiencing some level of career burnout. Over 97% of alumni felt prepared for their first 1-3 years of practice when reflecting on their didactic and their clinical education, and no one indicated that they would not recommend MSU PA Program to others. Many of the responses to “improving curriculum to better preparing MSU graduates for clinical practice” have been changes that the program has made in recent years as they are areas identified every alumni survey. These include pharmacology, billing/coding, and clinical site opportunities.  

 The average salary was $128,300, with the higher salaries being reported in surgical specialties. The majority of respondents received fringe benefits including health, life, and malpractice insurance as well as CME Reimbursement. All alumni reported they were NCCPA certified and 66% reported they were a member of a PA professional organization. Many of the alumni respondents are involved in community service (49%) and are involved in teaching activities (40%), Greater than 90% of respondents agreed that they work in a healthcare team and promote health-enhancing behaviors.  

The MSU PA Alumni Survey reports every two years and the next survey will go out in 2025. We look forward to hearing from our previous students and look for ways to update our program.