Leeds Institute of Medical Education, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom.
School of Psychology, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom.
PLoS One. 2020 May 12;15(5):e0232515. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0232515. eCollection 2020.
The number of physician associates (PAs) training and working in the UK has increased over the last few years following the proliferation of postgraduate courses. Understanding early experiences and what impacts on engagement is important if we are to appropriately support this relatively new professional group.
This paper reports on a cross-sectional analysis of the first year of data from a prospective 10-year longitudinal cohort study. First year PA students (n = 89) were enrolled from five universities in one UK region where the training programmes were less than 2 years old. Data collected were: demographic information, wellbeing, burnout and engagement, expectations, placement experience, performance and caring responsibilities. Pearson's correlations were used to examine relationships between variables and to select variables for a hierarchical regression analysis to understand which factors were associated with engagement. Descriptive statistics were calculated for questions relating to experience.
The experiences of PA students during their first 3-6 months were mixed. For example, 78.7% of students felt that there were staff on placement they could go to for support, however, 44.8% reported that staff did not know about the role and 61.3% reported that staff did not know what clinical work they should undertake. Regression analysis found that their level of engagement was associated with their perceived career satisfaction, overall well-being, and caring responsibilities.
The support systems required for PAs may need to be examined as results showed that the PA student demographic is different to that of medical students and caring responsibilities are highly associated with engagement. A lack of understanding around the PA role in clinical settings may also need to be addressed in order to better support and develop this workforce.
在过去几年中，随着研究生课程的增多，在英国接受培训和工作的医师助理（PA）人数有所增加。如果我们要适当支持这个相对较新的专业群体，了解他们的早期经验以及对参与度有何影响是很重要的。
本文报告了一项针对一项为期 10 年的前瞻性纵向队列研究第一年数据的横断面分析。来自英国一个地区的五所大学招收了第一年的 PA 学生（n=89），这些培训计划不到 2 年。收集的数据包括：人口统计学信息、幸福感、倦怠和参与度、期望、实习经验、表现和照顾责任。使用 Pearson 相关分析来检查变量之间的关系，并选择变量进行层次回归分析，以了解哪些因素与参与度相关。对与经验相关的问题进行了描述性统计分析。
PA 学生在头 3-6 个月的经历喜忧参半。例如，78.7%的学生觉得有可以寻求支持的实习工作人员，但 44.8%的学生报告说工作人员不知道他们的角色，61.3%的学生报告说工作人员不知道他们应该承担什么样的临床工作。回归分析发现，他们的参与度与他们的职业满意度、整体幸福感和照顾责任有关。
可能需要检查 PA 所需的支持系统，因为结果表明，PA 学生的人群与医学生不同，而且照顾责任与参与度高度相关。在临床环境中对 PA 角色的认识不足也需要加以解决，以更好地支持和发展这一劳动力。
