Theresa E. Hegmann, MPAS, PA-C, is director of curriculum and evaluation and a clinical professor in the Department of Physician Assistant Studies and Services at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine in Iowa City, Iowa.
J Physician Assist Educ. 2020 Jun;31(2):63-70. doi: 10.1097/JPA.0000000000000296.
Academic scholarship continues to challenge physician assistant (PA) educators in the United States, who typically enter academia with little experience in research or publication. Consequently, difficulty with navigating the promotion process might be expected to impact both job satisfaction and retention of PA faculty. Providing reasonable benchmarks for scholarship is one focus of this project, along with exploration of relationships among publication success, gender, job stressors, program support, and intent to leave academia.
Deidentified data from the online 2017 Faculty & Directors Survey was obtained from the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA), including gender, academic rank, program role, degree, publication numbers, and variables measuring program support, stressors, and intent to leave the institution or academia. Individual response rate was 60.3%, N = 1009. SPSS-v25 was used for data analysis.
Respondents were 65% female. The mean number of total publications was 2.7 (down from 4.2 in 2010); the median was zero with 50.6% reporting no publications during their career. Almost half (45.5%) of PA faculty were stressed by research or publishing demands; 53.6% were stressed by the promotion process. Physician assistant educators stressed by promotion were more likely to consider leaving their institution or academia as a whole (Fisher's exact, P < .001 for both).
This study updates publication benchmarks for PA educators. Scholarship levels have dropped since 2010, likely related to the recent influx of junior faculty. Navigating the promotions process is a significant occupational stressor for PA educators and is associated with faculty intent to leave academia.
学术奖学金继续挑战美国的医师助理（PA）教育者，他们通常在进入学术界时几乎没有研究或出版经验。因此，预计在晋升过程中遇到困难可能会影响 PA 教师的工作满意度和保留率。本项目的重点之一是为奖学金提供合理的基准，同时探讨出版成功、性别、工作压力源、项目支持以及离开学术界的意愿之间的关系。
从医师助理教育协会（PAEA）获得了在线 2017 年教师和主任调查的匿名数据，包括性别、学术等级、项目角色、学位、出版物数量以及衡量项目支持、压力源和离开机构或学术界意愿的变量。个人回复率为 60.3%，N=1009。使用 SPSS-v25 进行数据分析。
受访者中 65%为女性。总出版物数量的平均值为 2.7（低于 2010 年的 4.2）；中位数为零，50.6%的人在职业生涯中没有发表过任何出版物。近一半（45.5%）的 PA 教师因研究或出版需求而感到压力；53.6%的人因晋升过程而感到压力。因晋升而感到压力的医师助理教育者更有可能考虑离开他们的机构或整个学术界（Fisher's exact，对于两者都是 P<.001）。
本研究更新了 PA 教育者的奖学金基准。自 2010 年以来，奖学金水平有所下降，这可能与最近初级教师的涌入有关。在晋升过程中导航是 PA 教育者的一个重要职业压力源，与教师离开学术界的意愿有关。
