Perceptions of U.S. PAs regarding the entry-level doctoral degree
Abstract
Although many health care professions have implemented the entry-level
clinical doctorate, the physician assistant (PA) profession has not done so to date.
Furthermore, no research has been done on the PA profession to determine the
appropriateness of entry-level doctoral education. Methodology: This cross-sectional
study was designed to determine the perceptions of practicing PAs regarding an entrylevel
Doctorate of Physician Assistant (DPA) degree. A randomized sample of 1,500
United States PAs was surveyed and the results were analyzed using descriptive and Chi-
Square statistics. Results: The response rate for this survey was 23% (n=352). The
majority of the respondents (82.8%) did not perceive the DPA degree to be necessary for
entry into the PA profession. Likewise, 55.8% were not interested in returning to school
to obtain the DPA. Additionally, the majority of the respondents believed that the master
degree was sufficient for PA education, did not believe the DPA was necessary to deliver
high standards of care, would not leave the field of PA if the DPA were required and
believed the DPA would not be needed to compete with nurse practitioners. Conclusion:
The study results reveal a group of PAs in the United States who do not favor the
profession moving toward offering a DPA degree. These results are similar for other
professions who have already moved toward doctoral education.
Description
A project presented to the Department of Physician Assistant of Wichita State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Physician Assistant.