Physician assistant/associate career flexibility: factors associated with specialty transitions.

Background: Physician assistants/associates (PAs), due to their broad medical education and certification, have the flexibility to change specialties throughout their careers. Prior studies suggest that between half and three-quarters exercise this option at some point in their career, and a third do so within the first decade. However, more research is needed to understand the factors associated with PAs changing vs.

The effect of education debt on PAs' specialty choice or preference.

Objective: This study investigated educational debt, repayment strategies, and other factors potentially related to recently certified physician associates/assistants' (PAs') choice or preference for primary care versus all other specialties.

Methods: A national dataset from 2023 of recently certified PAs was used to conduct quantitative and qualitative analyses. Analyses were conducted separately for PAs who had accepted a clinical position and those who had not accepted a clinical position.

Public experience with and perspectives on medical care provided by PAs.

Objective: We sought to assess public experiences with and perspectives about physician associates/assistants (PAs), who are taking on increasingly important roles in healthcare.

Methods: We conducted a survey using a Qualtrics panel assessing whether participants (N = 1,388) received care from PAs, their perceptions of the care received, and their intentions of seeking care from PAs in the future.

Results: About 67% of participants reported receiving care from PAs; 61.

The association of physician assistant/associate demographic and practice characteristics with perceptions of value of certification.

Background: To determine physician assistant/associate (PA) perceptions of the value of certification and explore how they vary across demographic and practice characteristics.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional online survey between March and April 2020 with PAs participating in the longitudinal pilot program for recertification administered by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA). The survey was distributed to 18,147 PAs, of which 10,965 participated (60.

Choosing a Provider: What Factors Matter Most to Consumers and Patients?

Enhancing consumer and patient choice has been proposed as a means to improve care quality and reduce health-related costs. Choosing a medical provider is one of the most critical and often complex decisions patients make about their health care. We investigated the perceived importance of factors patients may consider when selecting a practitioner and if rated importance of the factors varies with their characteristics and prior experiences with different types of clinicians (physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners).

The role of PAs in providing mental health care.

The prevalence of psychiatric and substance use disorders in the United States is rising and of growing concern. Because such behavioral conditions are widespread, one approach is to collaborate with various medical professionals to help offset this demand. To address this issue, the frequency and types of mental health conditions encountered by physician assistants (PAs) were assessed.

PA practice analysis: Multidisciplinary tasks, knowledge, and skills.

In conducting its practice analysis, the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants incorporated new approaches in 2015. Twelve groups of PAs identified knowledge, tasks, and skills required for practice not only in primary care, but also in 11 practice focus areas (specialties). In addition, a list of diseases and disorders likely to be encountered was identified for each specialty.