Association Of Physician Assistant Programs Research Articles

First Annual Conference on New Health Practitioners.

The First National Conference on New Health Practitioners was a seminal event in the development of the fledgling PA profession. Sponsored by the Association of Physician Assistant Programs and the American Academy of Physician Assistants, it was achieved by the cooperation of leaders committed to the success of the new profession. This article reveals, in a manner never before detailed, how this conference milestone was planned and what took place, and emphasizes its importance to the field. The meeting, held in April of 1973, was groundbreaking, attracting, among the 252 participants, the leadership of the American Medical Association, the National Board of Medical Examiners, the Federation of State Medical Boards, the Association of American Medical Colleges, the American Nurses Association, and federal agencies within the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, responsible for promoting and funding PA education, as well as PAs and PA educators. This remarkable participation, and conference program, have long deserved a more explicit accounting than they have had to date. Details for this article were enhanced when one of the authors (Piemme) discovered, among his archive of personal documents (from almost 50 years ago), 2 items originally generated by the US Air Force that provide more insight into details of the conference. One is a robust conference planning document outlining in detail both the organizational elements and the programmatic elements of the conference. The other is a final financial statement from the conference organizing committee.

Founding of the Association of Physician Assistant Programs and the Organization's Central Role in the Development of the Physician Assistant Profession.

The Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA) (formerly Association of Physician Assistant Programs [APAP]) was founded in 1972 by early PA program leaders to encourage collaboration and discussion among program leaders and faculty on a wide range of issues of mutual concern. This article addresses the founding of the organization, which continues to represent PA programs today. It addresses the important accomplishments of APAP during the 1972-1974 period and describes in detail the essential contributions of APAP and its leaders in developing the PA profession. Included are discussions of "the Role of the Registry of Physicians' Associates," which was incorporated into APAP; the sponsorship of "the First National Conference on New Health Practitioners" in collaboration with AAPA; the "Launching a Joint National Office" for APAP and AAPA in Washington, DC, in 1973; and "Places at the Table," which reviews the successful efforts of APAP leaders to gain inclusion of AAPA and APAP in the Joint Review Committee on Educational Programs for Assistants to the Primary Physician (JRC-PA) for accrediting qualified programs, the contribution of APAP leaders to the development of the first Certification Examination for the Assistant to the Primary Care Physician by the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) in 1973, leadership in the founding of the National Commission on the Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) in 1974, and collaboration with the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) in developing interdisciplinary education and training. It concludes with a summation of the legacy of APAP (PAEA's) formative years.

Physician Assistant Education Association: Past, Present, and Future.

The Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA), known as the Association of Physician Assistant Programs (APAP) until 2006, is the professional organization that represents physician assistant (PA) programs in the United States. Its mission is to "pursue excellence, foster faculty development, advance the body of knowledge that defines quality education and patient-centered care, and promote diversity in all aspects of PA education." PAEA has played an important role in promoting and shaping the educational mission of the PA profession. PAEA experienced a modest beginning, but it has evolved quickly as it increased its governance structure, staff, budget, and member services to support a rapidly growing profession over the last couple of decades. PAEA's current progress has positioned the profession well to increase our national visibility and our ability to affect the future of health care delivery. The future of PA education and PAEA will certainly be impacted by our continuing ability to adapt to change and to be visionary in our approach to the significant challenges we will face. Collectively, the Association staff, volunteers, and members will strive to fulfill its mission.

Doctoral Education: Degrees of Separation

INTRODUCTION Nearly a decade ago, physician assistant (PA) educators debated whether or not a master’s degree should be considered the entry-level credential for a profession. The Association of Physician Assistant Programs (APAP), now the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA), established the Degree Task Force to examine the issue. After concluding that education in accredited PA programs was “conducted at the graduate level,” the task force stopped short of recommending a hard-and-fast credential standardization at the level of the master’s degree.1 It was believed at the time that institutional mission and local needs might present compelling reasons to offer an alternative academic credential. The task force also took no stand as to whether a traditional academic degree or a professional degree would be preferred. The task force ended its 2000 report, as would any prudent deliberative body, with the caveat that the situation was fluid and would no doubt require future study.1 The report of the APAP Degree Task Force foreshadowed future controversy, even anticipating “the development of a new professional degree.”1 That anticipated controversy is now here. The US Army and Baylor University have developed the first doctorate degree specifically for PAs — the doctor of science in physician assistant studies (DScPAS) degree.2 This is a postgraduate degree; however, the entire profession is now considering the merits and drawbacks of a PA doctoral degree in general, including as an entry-level credential. This debate echoes, even compounds, the “degree question” of a decade ago. As the current dialogue continues, I hope these next few paragraphs will provide some important insights from the broader world of academia and its history.

The Professional Development Needs of Faculty of Physician Assistant Programs

Essary, Alison C. MHPE, PA-C; Coplan, Bettie MPAS, PA-C; Liang, Mei MS; Calhoun, Bridget C. DrPH, PA-C Author Information

Physician Assistant Studentsʼ Attitudes Toward International Experiences

Purpose: This study assesses physician assistant (PA) students’ interest in international experiences. A white paper from the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA), formerly the Association of Physician Assistant Programs (APAP), “A Report on the Findings of the Ad Hoc Committee on International Physician Assistant Education,” recommends that the profession “explore the motivation for students’ international experiences.” In partial fulfillment of that objective, we examined the association between first-year PA students’ attitudes toward international experiences and student demographic characteristics, type of PA school attended, and prior student experiences. Methods: A convenience sample of 12 PA programs (one public and one private school in each of six US geographical regions) received surveys to distribute to their first-year students. Eleven programs returned 482 completed surveys. Results: A sizable majority of the students, 59.8%, indicated interest in international rotations. PA students with prior health care experience or prior international experience as a volunteer in missions work (faith-based or secular), or studying abroad were more likely to show interest in international rotations. Student interest in other languages and cultures, single marital status, and lack of dependents also correlates positively with increased interest in international experiences. Student self-perception of spirituality, valuing the humanitarian mission of the PA profession, and prior international military experience do not correlate with interest in international rotations. Conclusions: PA students’ interest in and participation in international rotations may affect the rapidly evolving globalization of the PA professional model.

The Evolution of Physician Assistant Faculty

INTRODUCTION As described by Hammond, the first educators of future physician assistants (PAs) emerged from the established medical education community and demonstrated a wide variety of backgrounds.1 Their noted determination to succeed, boundless energy, creativity, and commitment to respond to the needs of society proved to be the key to early success for the profession. In this issue, Cawley provides an abbreviated history of PA education, including a more detailed description of those early educators and leaders among PA program faculty, so this will not be repeated here. By the 1980s, acceptance of the PA profession by the medical community had grown, and a shift within the PA education community was emerging as more clinical PAs joined its ranks. The culture of PA programs began to move toward a student-centered approach and the embodiment of the service values upon which the profession was founded.1 This change from virtually no “PA” PA educators during the first decade of program existence to many was demonstrated in the Association of Physician Assistant Programs’ First Annual Report on Physician Assistant Educational Programs in the United States, 1984-85. The report noted that approximately one half of all program positions were then (in 1985) occupied by PAs.2 The increase in the number of PA programs during the 1990s resulted in the PA education community numbering over 1,000 as of 2007. These 21st century PA educators continue to exhibit the same characteristics valued in the original educators: determination, commitment, and innovation. Traversing the expectations of traditional academic life while maintaining their service orientation continues to challenge those who have chosen to enter the ranks of PA faculty. Before these challenges are considered, a profile of this community of educators is in order.

The Doctoral Pipeline in Physician Assistant Education

The significant and recent increase in the number of physician assistant (PA) programs, accompanied by the rise in the number of programs awarding a master’s degree, has had a continued effect on the availability of appropriately prepared PA program faculty members.1,2 The advent of master’s degree curricula, requiring the completion of a master’s degree project or thesis, established the need for student research supervision by faculty, who themselves often feel unprepared for the task. Additionally, all academic institutions and most regional accrediting agencies require faculty members to be academically credentialed at the same or higher level than the attending student population. This requirement continues to pressure current faculty members to obtain higher degrees.2 Experience in research and publication activities by PA faculty lags behind their experience with teaching and service, hampering their ability to meet the demands of the institution as well as the curricular responsibilities in master’s degree-awarding programs.3,4 In a 1999 review of the outcomes of a 1986 Association of Physician Assistant Programs (APAP) project designed to develop a vision statement about the PA of the future, Blessing reiterated that project’s recommendations for PA educational institutions in terms of faculty characteristics.5 Two of these recommendations suggested that programs “support and encourage the pursuit of higher degrees (master’s and doctorate level) by their faculty” and that faculty should “upgrade ... academic preparedness in order to teach proposed new ... curriculum.” No study to date has explored the extent to which programs support faculty in such pursuits, nor has the motivation of individual faculty members to upgrade been examined.5 The Sixteenth Annual Report on Physician Assistant Educational Programs in the United States, 1999-2000 noted that of PA faculty serving in roles other than that of program director, 55% had master’s Venetia L. Orcutt, MBA, PA-C, is program director of the Department of Physician Assistant Studies, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. Alice Hildebrand, BS, is a student in the Department of Physician Assistant Studies, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. P. Eugene Jones, PhD, PA-C, is chair of the Department of Physician Assistant Studies, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.

A Comparison of Research Teaching Models In Physician Assistant Education: Theory vs. Application via Cooperative Learning

2006 Vol 17 No 3 | The Journal of Physician Assistant Education BACKGROUND Since the first physician assistant (PA) training program was founded by Eugene Stead, MD, at Duke University in 1965, PA education has undergone many changes.1 What began as primarily certificate or bachelor’s degree programs 40 years ago have now transitioned to predominantly master’s degree programs. Of the 144 PA programs or program tracks listed in the Physician Assistant Education Association’s (previously the Association of Physician Assistant Programs) Physician Assistant Programs Directory, 121 currently offer a master’s degree.2 With this transition to the master’s degree has come the need to integrate a research curriculum into the already rigorous PA curriculum. This challenge has been met by different strategies ranging from online research courses to a required thesis. Since there is currently no consensus on the ideal research curriculum for PA master’s programs, the authors attempted to evaluate two different research curricula—one theory-based model and one application-based cooperative learning model—to see if the cooperative learning model produced improved learning outcomes. Cooperative learning is defined as the instructional use of small groups to facilitate students working together to maximize their own as well as each other’s learning.3 Many benefits of cooperative learning are associated with learner-to-learner interactions that are structured by interdependence and encouraged by accountability.4 According to Johnson, Johnson, and Smith, “the research results consistently indicate that cooperative learning will promote higher achievement, more positive interpersonal relationships, and higher self-esteem than will competitive or individualisA Comparison of Research Teaching Models In Physician Assistant Education: Theory vs. Application via Cooperative Learning

Value Added: Graduate-Level Education in Physician Assistant Programs

Joslin, Virginia H. PA-C, MPH; Cook, Patricia A. MD, FACP; Ballweg, Ruth PA-C, MPA; Cawley, James F. MPH, PA-C; Miller, Anthony A. MEd, PA-C; Sewell, Donna MS, PA-C; Somers, James E. PA, PhD; Vetrosky, Daniel PA-C, MEd; Lane, Steven MA Author Information

History Repeats Itself—Another Name Change for The Organization That Represents Physician Assistant Programs

In the wake of the recent vote by the membership of the Association of Physician Assistant Programs to change the organization’s name to Physician Assistant Education Association, it seems timely to look back at some of the other names and changes that PA professional organizations have gone through over the years. Change has been something of a constant in the evolution of our young profession and its representative bodies. Background In the 5 years following the opening of the first physician assistant (PA) program at Duke University in 1965, there was a tremendous proliferation of PA programs, with varying characteristics. Some programs trained graduates to be “generalists” in medicine, while others trained “specialists” to serve in a variety of medical and surgical subspecialties. Programs were located at medical schools, schools of allied health professions, universities, colleges, junior colleges, hospitals, clinics, and federal facilities, and their curricula ranged in length from a few weeks to 4 years. 1 The variations among programs produced PAs who differed greatly in their knowledge base, experiences, skills, and expertise. In 1970, the National Congress on Health Manpower investigated the emerging PA programs at the request of the American Medical Association’s (AMA) Council on Health Manpower and concluded that the generic term “physician’s assistant” was too general to distinguish between them and other health professionals. The council suggested that the term “associate” be used for those PAs trained to work in a direct, responsible, and collegial role with physicians. 2 In a similar attempt to distinguish between these practitioners’ qualifications, the Board of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences in 1970 began classifying physician assistants as Type A, B, and C, according to their degree of specializatio n, level of clinical decision making (judgment), and length of training. The academy called upon the AMA, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), and the government to develop uniform standards for education, resolve legal issues, and establish a uniform system of testing and certification for such assistants. 3

Physician Assistant Programs in the U.S.

The Association of Physician Assistant Programs (APAP) released the 18th Annual Report on Physician Assistant Educational Programs for the years 2001-2002 in the Winter of 2002. The annual report is the most comprehensive view of physician assistant educational programs produced today and gives great insight into the Physician Assistant system of education. The Association of Physician Assistant Programs serves as the national organization representing physician assistant educational programs in the United States. This article will review the highlights of this study.

The American Registry of Physiciansʼ Associates— Forerunner of the Association of Physician Assistant Programs

Authors desiring to contribute to the “PA History” feature should forward submissions to Reginald Carter, PhD, PA, at: Physician Assistant History Office, DUMC 3848, Durham, NC 27710. Telephone: 919-681-3156; fax: 919-681-3371; e-mail: [email protected]. Visual media should be accompanied by a brief narrative. Reginald Carter is director of the PA History Office located within the Department of Community and Family Medicine at the Duke University School of Medicine. The office is a joint venture of the Duke University School of Medicine, the American Academy of Physician Assistants, the Association of Physician Assistant Programs, and the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants.

The Day NBC Came to the Hills of West Virginia

Authors desiring to contribute to the “PA History” feature should forward submissions to Reginald Carter, PhD, PA, at: Physician Assistant History Office, DUMC 3848, Durham, NC 27710. Telephone: 919-681-3156; Fax: 919-681-3371; E-mail: [email protected]. Visual media should be accompanied by a brief narrative. Reginald Carter is director of the PA History Office located within the Department of Community and Family Medicine at the Duke University School of Medicine. The office is a joint venture of the Duke University School of Medicine, the American Academy of Physician Assistants, the Association of Physician Assistant Programs, and the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants.

Association of Physician Assistant Programs

Association of Physician Assistant Programs