Document Detail


Physician assistant students' perceptions of an entry-level doctorate degree.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  21639073     Owner:  NLM     Status:  In-Process    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
PURPOSE: In recent years, a growing trend toward clinical doctorate degrees has emerged in several allied health professions. However, few studies have been conducted within the physician assistant (PA) profession related to changing the entry-level degree for PAs to a clinical doctorate.
METHODS: A descriptive, quantitative study assessing PA students' perceptions of changing the entry-level credential for PAs to a clinical doctorate was conducted. Thirty randomly selected programs with 1,966 students were invited to participate in the survey.
RESULTS: Of the programs invited, 25 (83%) participated, with 486 (25%) full-time students completing the survey. Of the respondents, 56.1% (272) were first-year students and 43.9% (213) were second-year students. Both groups had a negative perception of changing the entry-level degree for PAs to a clinical doctorate, indicating the doctorate will raise the cost of PA education and discourage some people from entering the profession (82.1%, n = 398); a doctorate for PAs will cause confusion for patients (71.3%, n = 346); and that there is no need for the profession-specific doctorate since the master's degree sufficiently prepares PAs to practice in today's health care setting (70.9%, n = 344).
CONCLUSIONS: The present findings lend additional support to previous studies, endorsing the master's degree as the entry-level and terminal degrees.
Authors:
Lori E Swanchak; Alan M Levine; Karen E Arscott; Mary Alice Golden
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article    
Journal Detail:
Title:  The journal of physician assistant education : the official journal of the Physician Assistant Education Association     Volume:  22     ISSN:  1941-9430     ISO Abbreviation:  J Physician Assist Educ     Publication Date:  2011  
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2011-06-06     Completed Date:  -     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  101298201     Medline TA:  J Physician Assist Educ     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  19-24     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Physician Assistant Program, Marywood University, 2300 Adams Avenue Scranton, Pennsylvania 18509, Telephone: (570) 961-4711 Email: swanchak@marywood.edu. USA. swanchak@marywood.edu
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