Physician Assistant Students' Attitudes Towards a Clinical Doctoral Degree. Issue 1 (March 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Menezes, Prema; Senkomago, Virginia; Coniglio, David
• Is Part Of: Journal of physician assistant education. Volume 26:Issue 1(2015:Mar.)
• Publication Date: 2015-03
• Subjects: Physicians' assistants -- Education -- United States -- Periodicals; Physician Assistants -- education -- Periodicals; 610.7372092
• DOI: 10.1097/JPA.0000000000000007
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1941-9430

Abstract

Abstract : Purpose: The introduction of clinical doctorate degrees in several health professions has fueled the debate about an entry-level clinical doctorate in the physician assistant profession. However, there is limited knowledge of the attitudes of physician assistant students toward obtaining a clinical doctorate. Methods: All 147 accredited physician assistant programs in the United States were invited to participate in a Web-based survey conducted in January 2010; physician assistant students in any program year were eligible to participate. The survey examined physician assistant students' attitudes towards (a) enrolling in a clinical doctorate program, (b) additional schooling time, (c) monetary costs, and (d) perceived benefits of a clinical doctorate. Chi-square tests were conducted to examine differences in survey item responses and composite variables. Results: From 37 states and 53 physician assistant programs, 1815 physician assistant students completed the survey and 1658 were included in this analysis. Nearly half (49.8%) of the responding physician assistant students overall had a positive attitude toward a clinical doctorate degree. More respondents favored than opposed enrolling in a clinical doctorate program if schooling time were an additional 12 months or less (55.5% vs 29.9%, P < .0001) and additional costs were between 20% and 29% of current expenditure (44.8% vs 36.4%, P < .0001). More than half (56.2%) of the physician assistant students considered perceived benefits (composite variable) as a reason to obtain a clinical doctorate. Conclusions: This large study comprising more than one-third of physician assistant programs and representing 80% of the US states with physician assistant programs finds that physician assistant students' interest in enrolling in a clinical doctorate program may be dependent on additional school time and monetary costs.