Read how the Physician Assistant Leadership and Learning Academy is building a statewide infrastructure to help ensure a strong pipeline of providers in the latest issue of “CATALYST.”
At the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB), a forward-thinking initiative is tackling some of the most pressing challenges in health care education and access. The Physician Assistant Leadership and Learning Academy (PALLA) was created in 2019 to strengthen Maryland’s physician assistant (PA) workforce by improving faculty development, clinical training opportunities, and student success.
To this end, PALLA is building a statewide infrastructure to support the rapid growth of PA programs and help ensure a strong pipeline of providers for Maryland’s health care system and beyond. More than an academic resource, PALLA is a collaborative force working to keep the PA profession on pace with rising demand for health care services — especially in underserved communities.
The Expanding PA Landscape
The PA profession has grown dramatically over the past two decades. In 2004, the United States had just 135 accredited PA programs. By 2024, that number more than doubled to 310, and the trend is projected to continue as health care systems nationwide struggle to meet patient demand.
Maryland’s PA landscape mirrors this trajectory. From a single program at the Community College of Baltimore County-Essex in the early 1990s, the state now supports six PA programs — four housed in public universities and two in private institutions. These programs consistently attract more qualified applicants than they can admit, a signal of both the profession’s appeal and the pressure to expand capacity.
With growth comes complexity. PA programs across Maryland — and the country — are contending with faculty shortages, limited availability of clinical preceptors and training sites, accreditation hurdles, and leadership turnover. These challenges, if left unaddressed, could affect the future quality and stability of the PA profession.
“The PA profession is at a crossroads,” says Gerald Kayingo, PhD, MBA, PA-C, DFAAPA, assistant dean and executive director of PALLA. “We are growing at an exciting pace, but we must ensure that this growth is accompanied by the infrastructure, leadership, and educational excellence necessary to support it. That’s where PALLA steps in.”
Statewide Solution with National Impact
PALLA, part of the University of Maryland School of Graduate Studies, was created in direct response to these systemic needs. With a mission to advance PA education, research, policy, and practice, the academy supports PA programs in critical areas such as faculty development, student success, clinical site recruitment, accreditation readiness, and program quality improvement.
“Training more PAs isn’t just about increasing classroom seats,” Kayingo says. “It’s about investing in the educators, preceptors, and leaders who make that training possible. PALLA is designed to build that capacity — because when we train the trainers, we can exponentially grow the workforce.”
This approach recognizes that a thriving PA workforce starts with the ability to develop and retain skilled educators and mentors. PALLA equips experienced PAs to become instructors and academic leaders, ensuring that Maryland’s educational programs can sustainably meet growing health care needs.
The latest issue of "CATALYST" magazine highlights the School of Pharmacy's Mass Spectrometry Center; Police and Public Safety's comfort K9 Poe; the Costa Rica Faculty Development Institute; Bill Joyner, JD, MSW, of the Office of Community and Civic Engagement; the School of Social Work's B'more for Healthy Babies; the School of Medicine's work to develop physicians for rural areas; facts about the Universities at Shady Grove, and much more.