(Peter Urban, Las Vegas Review-Journal) – WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Joe Heck introduced legislation Thursday aimed at alleviating a shortage of physician assistants at VA health facilities.
The bill would establish a five-year pilot program under which the Department of Veterans Affairs would provide assistance to former medics and corpsmen training to become physician assistants in exchange for a period of service in VA clinics after earning their certification as a PA.
“With 23 percent of PA slots within the VA open, a program like this is long overdue,” said Heck, a Nevada Republican.
Aside from relieving the physician assistants shortage, the bill would also provide additional job opportunities for service members as they return to civilian life, he said.
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