Advanced practice providers (APPs) are a rapidly growing set of high demand occupations within the health care field. Typically, they include Physician Assistants (PAs), Nurse Practitioners (NPs), Nurse Midwives and Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs). These occupations are unique in that they provide pathways into high-level health care provision without the requirement of a medical doctoral degree. This means a lower barrier of entry to high wage, high demand health care jobs.

For those considering careers in health care, APPs provide additional options beyond the longer and often more expensive¹ education and training required to become a Physician. For Physicians, the typical education and training adds up to at least 11 years (and is often more, depending on the specialty), while APPs can be practicing much sooner, usually around 6-8 years, again depending on the occupation and specialty.

For example, to become a NP, one must first be a Registered Nurse, which is also a high-demand occupation that can be reached via either two- or four-year degrees. Next, the candidate must complete a graduate-level advanced practice nursing program, which can either take the form of a master's or doctoral/professional degree. According to the Minnesota Board of Nursing, there are currently 15 different advanced practice nursing programs in the state        .

The rise in demand for APPs reflects the increasing demand and complexity of health care as well as the tighter constraints on producing qualified Physicians. According to researchers at the Center for Interdisciplinary Health Workforce Studies, the share of health care services provided by APPs has been growing rapidly and is expected to continue expanding. Nationally, advanced practice nursing occupations have grown from six to 17 times faster than the average of all occupations (see Table 1).

Indeed, this trend can be seen in local data as well. The most recent round of long-term employment projections forecast incredible growth in the APP occupations (see Table 2). The number of NPs in particular is expected to grow astronomically. It had the highest projected percent growth of all occupations in Northeast Minnesota for the period from 2020 to 2030. The number of  PAs are also expected to grow much faster than the overall average and the forecasted growth rate for all Healthcare Practitioners.

Another, more recent measure of high demand is the number of job vacancies for APP occupations. As of 2023, the estimated 68 openings for PAs represented an all-time high for the occupation in the region. This increasingly high demand is also evident in the wages offered for these positions. The $52.20 median wage offer for PAs exceeded those of all other APPs, despite having the lowest median wage for filled jobs among the four occupations (see Table 2).

The especially acute demand is likely pushing up entry-level wages amid high competition for PA candidates, like those produced locally by the College of St. Scholastica. Anecdotally, a recent check of two major local health care providers (Essentia and Aspirus/St. Luke's) websites turned up a combined 86 openings for APPs.

Amid a rapidly heating up market for advanced practice providers, one thing is clear. Demand will remain strong for these occupations that provide alternative pathways into lucrative health care careers. Learn more by exploring our many occupational data tools like Career Pathways!

For more information about health care careers in Northeast Minnesota, contact Carson Gorecki at carson.gorecki@state.mn.us.

¹ 2023-2024 tuition for Mayo's M.D. Program was $64,000. In-state tuition for 2023-2024 University of Minnesota Medical school was $44,969. Tuition for the Mayo CRNA program in the 2024-2025 year is $22,860.