Doctorally Prepared Physician Assistant Faculty: Publishing History by Degree and Degree Source

Abstract

A 1993 study revealed 24 physician assistants (PAs) employed in PA education out of a pool of 54 graduate PAs known to have a doctor of philosophy (PhD), doctor of education (EdD), doctor of public health (DrPH), or doctor of science (DSc) degree.1 Over the past 10 years, the number of PA programs converting to or launched as master’s degree programs has increased by 60%. The number of PA faculty possessing a doctoral degree has also increased during the same time period, presumably reflecting institutional requirements for more doctorally prepared faculty to conduct graduatelevel instruction and student research mentoring. While descriptions of faculty publication history have been undertaken previously,1-3 no studies have investigated the characteristics of the academic preparation and subsequent publication history of doctorally prepared PA faculty. This study examined the peer-reviewed publishing history of doctorally prepared PA faculty with specific emphasis on type of degree, type of the doctoral degreegranting institution, and method of degree acquisition. The null hypothesis was that there is no difference in the peer-reviewed publishing habits among PA faculty with differing doctoral degrees acquired from differing levels of institutions by differing methods of degree acquisition.