Karen Graham-Burnet, PhD, PA-C, is a professor of Physician Assistant Studies at Cedarville University, Cedarville, Ohio.
J Physician Assist Educ. 2023 Jun 1;34(2):104-109. doi: 10.1097/JPA.0000000000000494. Epub 2023 Apr 18.
In an era of rapid professional growth, retaining a workforce of career physician assistant (PA) educators is crucial; yet, PA education has historically struggled with faculty retention. The purpose of this study was to examine the lived experiences of PAs who have left academia in order to better understand PA faculty attrition.
Purposeful sampling was used to identify PAs who had recently left academic positions, with recruitment continuing until thematic saturation was reached. A total of 18 semi-structured interviews were conducted via phone or email, and a thematic qualitative analysis of the transcripts was completed.
Ineffective leadership, unsustainable workloads, inadequate mentorship or training, erroneous expectations of academic work, and a "pull" back to clinical practice emerged as dominant themes in participants' decisions to leave academia. Ineffective leadership was an issue at both the program and the institutional level, resulting in feelings of inadequate institutional support. The availability of clinical jobs facilitated attrition decisions by providing an easily accessible exit from academia.
This research provides a model for understanding PA faculty attrition and has implications for retention. Effective program leadership that supports new faculty development, creates sustainable workloads, and advocates for the program within the institution has a significant role in faculty retention. Leadership development should be a priority for the profession and is vital to securing a PA education workforce. A limitation of this study is that the data were collected prepandemic, so the impact of recent cultural and institutional changes is unknown.
在专业迅速发展的时代，留住一支职业医师助理（PA）教育工作者队伍至关重要；然而，PA 教育在历史上一直难以留住教师。本研究的目的是研究离开学术界的 PA 的生活经历，以便更好地了解 PA 教师流失的原因。
采用目的性抽样方法，确定最近离开学术职位的 PA，直到达到主题饱和为止。通过电话或电子邮件共进行了 18 次半结构化访谈，并对转录本进行了主题定性分析。
无效的领导力、无法持续的工作量、不足的指导或培训、对学术工作的错误期望以及回归临床实践的“吸引力”，这些都是参与者决定离开学术界的主要原因。无效的领导力是项目和机构层面的问题，导致他们感到机构支持不足。临床工作的可用性通过为学术界提供一个容易进入的出口，促进了离职决定。
这项研究为理解 PA 教师流失提供了一个模型，并对保留问题有影响。有效的项目领导力在支持新教师发展、创造可持续的工作量以及在机构内倡导项目方面发挥着重要作用，这对教师保留至关重要。领导力发展应该是该专业的优先事项，对确保 PA 教育工作者队伍至关重要。本研究的一个限制是数据是在大流行前收集的，因此目前尚不清楚最近的文化和机构变化的影响。
