News and briefs: Women make more money as PAs

A new study shows that for females, it is more financially lucrative to become a physician assistant (PA) than a physician. The study, lead by M. Keith Chen and Judith Chevalier of the Yale School of Management, compared wages and hours worked to determine the net present value (which is used to analyze the profitability of an investment) of each career. For females, the net present value of becoming a physician is $1.67 million; for a physician assistant, it is $1.68 million.

One reason for this, according to the study authors, is because female physicians do not work enough hours to make up for the investment in their training. They say once women start having children, they work fewer hours.