Graduate School, University of Maryland Baltimore, Baltimore, MD, USA.
College of Science and Health, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
BMC Med Educ. 2022 Apr 29;22(1):331. doi: 10.1186/s12909-022-03375-x.
Many health profession programs have transitioned to doctoral credentials. While a master's degree is the terminal degree for the physician assistant (PA) profession, there is increasing discussion regarding the doctoral degree as the PA terminal credential in US higher education.This study examines trends, demand and economic opportunities for doctoral prepared PA faculty; specifically, assessing to what extent PA faculty employers prefer doctoral credentials.
This longitudinal retrospective observational study assessed commonly required/preferred academic credentials in PA faculty job postings. Data from 2014 to 2020 was obtained from the labor analytics firm Burning Glass Technologies (BGT) and other academic job search engines. Data on current PA faculty and program directors were obtained from Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA) survey reports. Wage gap analysis was performed to gain additional insight for the supply and demand of PA educators with a doctoral degree.
Of the 612 unique job ads posted from 232 PA programs between 2014 and 2020, approximately 38.9% (238) stated a preference or requirement for a doctoral degree. Nearly half of the postings for program directors and leadership positions preferred candidates with doctorates. There was a correlation between tenure eligibility positions (20.1%) and preference/requirement for doctoral credentials. PAEA survey data (2014-2019) revealed approximately 24% PA faculty and 45-48% of program directors held a doctoral degree with Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) as the most frequently held doctorate. No significant difference existed in wages for faculty with or without doctoral degree.
Based on a national sample of PA program job ads, there is a preference for doctoral-prepared PA educators and the demand for these candidates is greater than market supply. Our analysis has implications for individual faculty career planning, employers and the PA profession as it debates transition to a terminal doctoral credential. Further studies should assess the impact of doctoral credentials on PA education by examining measurable outcomes.
许多健康职业项目已经过渡到博士学位。虽然硕士学位是医师助理（PA）职业的最高学位，但在美国高等教育中，越来越多的人讨论将博士学位作为 PA 的最高学位。本研究考察了具有博士学位的 PA 教师的趋势、需求和经济机会；具体来说，评估 PA 教师雇主对博士学位的偏好程度。
本纵向回顾性观察研究评估了 PA 教师职位招聘中常见的要求/偏好学术资格。数据来自劳动力分析公司 Burning Glass Technologies（BGT）和其他学术求职搜索引擎，时间为 2014 年至 2020 年。关于当前 PA 教师和项目主任的数据来自医师助理教育协会（PAEA）的调查报告。为了深入了解具有博士学位的 PA 教育工作者的供需情况，进行了工资差距分析。
在 2014 年至 2020 年间，来自 232 个 PA 项目的 612 个独特职位广告中，约 38.9%（238 个）表示偏好或要求博士学位。近一半的项目主任和领导职位的职位更喜欢有博士学位的候选人。有终身职位（20.1%）和对博士学位的偏好/要求之间存在相关性。PAEA 调查数据（2014-2019 年）显示，大约 24%的 PA 教师和 45-48%的项目主任拥有博士学位，其中哲学博士（PhD）是最常持有的博士学位。有博士学位和没有博士学位的教师的工资没有显著差异。
根据全国范围内的 PA 项目职位广告样本，人们更喜欢具有博士学位的 PA 教育工作者，对这些候选人的需求大于市场供应。我们的分析对个人教师职业规划、雇主和 PA 专业都有影响，因为它正在讨论向博士学位的最高学位过渡。进一步的研究应该通过检查可衡量的结果来评估博士学位对 PA 教育的影响。
