Snyder Jennifer A, Miller Anthony
Jennifer A. Snyder, PhD, PA-C, DFAAPA, is a professor, Physician Assistant Program, Associate Dean, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Butler University, 4600 Sunset Avenue, Indianapolis, Indiana.
Anthony Miller is a professor emeritus, Division of PA Studies, Shenandoah University, Winchester, Virginia.
J Physician Assist Educ. 2025 Jun 1;36(2):149-154. doi: 10.1097/JPA.0000000000000646. Epub 2024 Dec 24.
There are several ramifications of a potential degree transition to an entry-level doctoral degree for Physician Assistant (PA) programs. The purpose of this article is to investigate the impact on institutional accreditation and transitioning to an entry level doctoral degree. To understand the potential impact on racial diversity, a subset of programs was further reviewed.
The Standards from the Accreditation Review Commission for PA Education (ARC-PA) and the six Institutional Accreditation commissions that recognize institutions were reviewed. The accreditation outcomes from all ARC-PA accredited programs' institutions were reviewed.
The majority of PA programs, including those that graduate the highest diverse populations of PAs, are already recognized as comprehensive or doctoral degree granting institutions. This means they would likely not encounter significant accreditation challenges in an application to transition. Most PA programs meet the requirements for credit hour, length of program, and expectations of 'substantial mastery' of the content in the curriculum to satisfy institutional accreditation requirements at the professional doctoral degree level. The faculty qualifications and level of scholarship required would need to be in compliance with the institutional accreditor's expectations.
This paper highlighted the general institutional accreditation requirements that would need to be met in order to establish a PA doctoral program. Fortunately, the standards tend to be broad and if the PA program can meet ARC-PA Standards, it is likely the institutional accreditor standards would be satisfied.
医师助理（PA）项目向入门级博士学位的潜在学位转变有多种影响。本文旨在探讨对机构认证以及向入门级博士学位转变的影响。为了解对种族多样性的潜在影响，对一部分项目进行了进一步审查。
审查了医师助理教育认证审查委员会（ARC-PA）的标准以及认可机构的六个机构认证委员会。审查了所有ARC-PA认证项目机构的认证结果。
大多数PA项目，包括那些培养出最多样化PA群体的项目，已经被认可为综合性或授予博士学位的机构。这意味着它们在申请转变时可能不会遇到重大的认证挑战。大多数PA项目在学分小时数、项目时长以及对课程内容“充分掌握”的期望方面符合要求，以满足专业博士学位水平的机构认证要求。所需的教师资质和学术水平需要符合机构认证机构的期望。
本文强调了建立PA博士项目需要满足的一般机构认证要求。幸运的是，这些标准往往较为宽泛，如果PA项目能够符合ARC-PA标准，很可能也能满足机构认证机构的标准。
