Non-Physician Clinicians

Physician Assistants

In 2003, there were 342 active physician assistants (PAs) licensed to practice in New Mexico for a ratio of 18.2 PAs for every 100,000 New Mexico residents (Table 32).

Sources: Border States includes data from Arizona Medical Board (2004), California Department of Consumer Affairs (2004), New Mexico Health Policy Commission (2003), and Texas State Board of Medical Examiners (2003); U.S. from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Bureau of Health Professions (2000).

• There were 33 physician assistants in New Mexico’s Border Counties; this was 10.4 PAs for every 100,000 persons living in the Border region. The PA ratio for the Border Counties was lower than the ratio of 18.2 per 100,000 for New Mexico, the Border States (12.9 per 100,000) and the U.S. (14.8 per 100,000).
  
  
• In New Mexico’s metropolitan³⁸ Border Counties, the supply of PAs was 1.4 times greater than the supply in the non-metropolitan counties (12.5 and 8.8 per 100,000 PAs, respectively).
  
  
• The supply of PAs in the counties between 62 and 300 miles from the Border was notably higher (19.9 per 100,000) than those in the Border Counties and the counties more than 300 miles from the Border (11.2 per 100,000).
  
  
• Nineteen percent of PAs in New Mexico were approaching retirement age (ages 55 and over). About 21 percent of PAs in the counties within 62 of the Border fell into this age group (Table 33).
  
  
• Over half of PAs in the Border Counties and counties between 62 and 300 miles from the Border were female: 61 percent and 51 percent, respectively (Table 34).

Nurse Practitioners

In 2003, there were 576 active nurse practitioners licensed to practice in New Mexico for a ratio of 31 nurse practitioners for every 100,000 New Mexico residents (Table 35).

Sources: Border States includes data from Arizona State Board of Nursing (2004), California Department of Consumer Affairs (2004), New Mexico Health Policy Commission (2003), and Texas Board of Nurse Examiners (2003); U.S. from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Bureau of Health Professions (2000).

• There were 77 nurse practitioners in New Mexico’s Border Counties; this was 24 nurse practitioners per 100,000 population. The NP to population ratio for the Border Counties was consistently lower than the State ratio (31 per 100,000), the Border States ratio (38 per 100,000), and the U.S. ratio (28 per 100,000).
  
  
• The nurse practitioner to population ratio in the counties more than 300 miles from the Border was the highest in the State at 45 nurse practitioners per 100,000 population. In the counties between 62 and 300 miles from the Border, the ratio was 32 per 100,000.
  
  
• Twenty-one percent of nurse practitioners in the Border Counties were approaching retirement age (ages 55 and over); this was a lower proportion than the 27 percent of the nurse practitioners in the State who would be eligible for retirement within the next 10 years (Table 36).
  
  
• The majority of nurse practitioners (89 percent) in New Mexico were female (Table 37).

Nurse Midwives

In 2003, there were 130 active nurse midwives licensed to practice in New Mexico. This produced a ratio of 6.9 nurse midwives for every 100,000 New Mexico residents (Table 38).

Sources: Border States includes data from Arizona State Board of Nursing (2004), California Department of Consumer Affairs (2004), Public Health Division, New Mexico Department of Health (2004), and Texas Board of Nurse Examiners (2003); U.S. from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Bureau of Health Professions (2000).

• There were 22 nurse midwives in the New Mexico Border Counties; this was 6.9 nurse midwives per 100,000 population. The ratio in the Border Counties was comparable to the State ratio of nurse midwives to population. Ratios of nurse midwives to population in the Border Counties and New Mexico were higher than the ratio for Border States (3.3 per 100,000) and the U.S. (2.8 per 100,000).
  
  
• In the Border Counties, the ratio of nurse midwives to population was 2.5 times higher than the national ratio.
  
  
• In the counties between 62 and 300 miles from the Border, the ratio was similar to the Border Counties (7.0 per 100,000). There were no nurse midwives in the counties more than 300 miles from the Border.
  
  
• Nurse midwives who practiced in the New Mexico Border Counties were older (52 years of age) than the State average (47 years of age). Similarly, 32 percent of nurse midwives in the Border Counties were approaching retirement age (ages 55 and over) while 22 percent of nurse midwives in the State would also be eligible for retirement within the next 10 years (Table 39).
  
  
• All nurse midwives who practiced in New Mexico were female (Table 40).

Nurse Anesthetists

In 2003, there were 122 active nurse anesthetists licensed to practice in New Mexico for a ratio of 6.5 nurse anesthetists for every 100,000 New Mexico residents (Table 41).

Sources: Border States includes data from Arizona State Board of Nursing (2004), California Department of Consumer Affairs (2004), New Mexico Health Policy Commission (2003), and Texas Board of Nurse Examiners (2003): U.S. from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Bureau of Health Professions (2000).

• There were 15 nurse anesthetists in the New Mexico Border Counties; this was 4.7 nurse anesthetists per 100,000 population. There were fewer nurse anesthetists in the counties within 62 miles of the Border than in the State (6.5 per 100,000) and U.S. (9.1 per 100,000), but comparable to the Border States (4.5 per 100,000).
  
  
• There were one-half as many nurse anesthetists in the New Mexico Border Counties than there were at the national level.
  
  
• Thirty-three percent of nurse anesthetists who practiced in the Border Counties were approaching retirement age (ages 55 and over); this was notably higher than the 25 percent of nurse anesthetists in the State who would be eligible for retirement within the next 10 years (Table 42).
  
  
• Males dominated this segment of the nursing workforce in New Mexico: 73 percent of nurse anesthetists in the Border Counties and 59 percent of the State workforce were male (Table 43)