The effect of early geriatric exposure upon career development and subspecialty selection among physician assistant students.

PURPOSE

The elderly population is increasing. So too is the demand for geriatric medical care. Currently, there are too few practitioners to meet the expanding need for geriatric health services. Physician assistants (PAs) can help bridge this gap.

METHODS

A descriptive, quantitative study assessing PA students of five Pennsylvania programs and their level of geriatric training and subsequent career specialty selection was conducted. The study consisted of a 10-question survey regarding student exposure to geriatric patients, type of exposure, and career plans.

RESULTS

The study concluded that although the majority indicated both geriatric coursework (61.9%) and clinical exposure (54.2%) to geriatric patients in the first year of training, Pennsylvania PA students expressed little interest in specializing in geriatric medicine.

CONCLUSION

Present findings indicate current geriatric curricula and exposure of PA students to the elderly may be inadequate to influence PA students in northeastern Pennsylvania to choose to specialize in geriatric medicine. Further research and findings from this study indicate using a multifaceted approach to geriatric education including more frequent positive interactions with elderly patients, and enhancing geriatric clinical exposure may result in increased interest of PA students in geriatric medicine. Additionally, the provision of a financial incentive may influence current PA students to more strongly consider a practice in geriatrics. These changes could potentially help increase the number of PAs interested in geriatrics as a career choice and facilitate PAs filling the anticipated gap between elderly medical needs and available health care providers.