Perspective on the Journal of Physician Assistant Education : From Association Newsletter to Academic Peer-Reviewed Journal Celebrating 25 Years.

For 25 years, the Journal of PA Education (JPAE) and its predecessor publications have been the pre-eminent venues for disseminating and promulgating information and research on the physician assistant (PA) profession. In this article, former and current editors in chief have compiled a detailed history of the journal, its development, and its trajectory into the future, outlining the journey taken by Association of PA Programs/PA Education Association to catalog faculty scholarship through a peer-reviewed journal. Allowing for the referencing of articles and thus adding to the body of knowledge on PAs and PA education, JPAE has not only endured but thrived.

Blue Sky Thinking: Physician Assistant Accreditation and the Potential Impact on the Programs, Faculty, and the Profession.

Blue sky thinking references the opportunity to brainstorm about a topic without limits… to consider what things might be like if creative thoughts were unconstrained by current philosophies or other boundaries. This article is a call to our fellow educators to consider how blue sky thinking applied to physician assistant (PA) program accreditation might further advance programs, faculty, and the profession. To develop and maintain a PA program, institutions must voluntarily undergo evaluation by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant.

Accreditation Outcomes: Does Program Director Experience Matter?

Purpose: The program director (PD) is responsible for providing effective leadership and possessing knowledge of accreditation. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether a PD's experience in higher education affects the accreditation outcome.

Methods: This cross-sectional study includes Physician Assistant (PA) programs that underwent an accreditation visit between January 2012 and January 2022.

The workforce trends of physician assistants in Iowa (1995-2015).

Background: Physician assistants are expected to have an important role in providing both primary and specialty care. Iowa has a large rural (and aging) population and faces challenges to provide equitable access to care. This study examined changes in the Iowa physician assistant workforce (1995-2015) focusing on practice setting (primary v.

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.

The relationship between physician assistant program costs and student tuition and fees.

Purpose: Leaders in medical and physician assistant (PA) education are faced with reduced sources of funding, tuition increases, and enrollment expansion, while students compete for the same pool of federal aid. The amount of research on the cost of education for both PA students and education programs is minimal.

Methods: This retrospective analysis of Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA) data, 2008-2011, examined the relationship between PA program costs and student tuition and fees.