Comings and Goings: Entering, Staying, and/or Leaving PA Education

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

Medical education, similar to other areas of higher professional education, challenges its faculty to be both educators and, often, experienced in the clinical areas in which they are to provide instruction. As a result, there exists a bi-directional pathway between practicing as a clinician and serving as faculty at higher education institutions. This symposium focuses on the factors that drive clinicians to academia, those that sustain faculty in their positions, and, in some cases, lead to their re-entry to clinical practice as a PA (physician assistant, physician associate). The research presented herein speaks to the underlying factors that contribute to these transitions to-and-from academia/clinical practice and the impact they have on the overall educational system.

Sub Unit

• Division I - Education in the Professions

Chair

• Robert T. Furter, PA Education Association

Papers

• Impact of Professional Development Workshops on PA Faculty Retention and Career Advancement - Karen Hills, PA Education Association

• Influences on the Transition into PA Academia: A Qualitative Investigation - Laura Gerstner, Campbell University

• Transitions Between Clinical Practice and Academia in PA Education: 10 Years of Quantitative and Qualitative Findings - Karen Graham-Burnet, Cedarville University