Obama Administration promises new money to help Vets become physician assistants

Aug 3 2012

The Obama administration has announced $2.3 million in grants to help veterans become physician assistants -- helping ease their transition back into civilian life.

The Hill: HHS Grants To Help Veterans Become Physician Assistants
The federal Health department will devote $2.3 million to helping train new physician assistants, focusing on veterans who want civilian jobs in health care. "If you can save a life on the battlefield in Afghanistan, you can save a life here at home," said Health and Human Services Secretary (HHS) Kathleen Sebelius in a statement. "These grants will help ensure veterans who served our country can use their military medical training and get good jobs serving patients" (Viebeck, 8/2).

CQ HealthBeat: Primary Care Training Grants Key On Vets
Twelve colleges and universities will share in $2.3 million in Health and Human Services grants to train primary care physician assistants, with a particular emphasis on helping veterans use their medical training in the service to help them transition to civilian life. That theme has come up in various ways this year, including at a recent House hearing where a bipartisan team of lawmakers said they want to pursue legislation to make it easier for military medics to get licensed as civilian emergency medical technicians (8/2).

In other news related to the health care workforce --

Kaiser Health News: Nursing Schools Struggling To Find Professors
There have been lots of parties this year at the University of Virginia School of Nursing, but Dean Dorrie Fontaine is in no mood to celebrate. So far, eleven professors have retired, a full 25 percent of the whole faculty. The health law is predicted to boost demand for nurses to take care of the newly-insured, especially in primary care. 'I need faculty to teach the practitioners that are going to take care of these uninsured,' she says" (Hausman, 8/3).