How PAs became licensed to practice in the United States

The history of how PAs in the United States were first granted practice authority under the medical practice acts of the various states and territories begins in the 1960s with an imaginative way to circumvent the moratorium on licensure of new healthcare occupations in place at the time, while allowing the requisite flexibility for the new profession to take hold and thrive. In the subsequent decades, separate licensure for PAs was required and adopted. Despite the enormous success of the PA profession over its first 50 years, challenges remain.