Physician Assistant Education Community Assumptions About an Entry-level Doctoral Degree.

Purpose: This study described the assumptions that PA educators hold regarding the option and/or transition to a doctoral entry-level degree for PA graduates.

Methods: A cross-sectional electronic survey of all members of accredited PA programs was administered. The survey comprised 32 Likert-type statements that measured respondents' level of agreement ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree and general demographic information. Mean scores are reported for each Likert statement and then compared with analysis of variance and post hoc testing for subgroups of baseline variables.

Results: Responses indicate wide-ranging opinions regarding the adoption of an entry-level doctoral degree for PAs. However, the preponderance of responses appeared more neutral or in opposition to an entry-level doctoral degree. The statement with the strongest level of agreement was that "consideration of the entry-level doctoral degree was really about competing with advanced practice nurses." Educators who were PAs and those who were physicians differed significantly in their responses for 17 of 32 statements.

Conclusion: Most respondents believed that the master's degree is "enough for clinical practice." If there is not a deliberate discussion informing the transition to a doctoral entry-level degree, then the change is likely to occur at the individual program level as it did with the transition from a certificate to a bachelor's degree and then to a master's degree. If the PA profession moves to the acceptance of an entry-level doctoral degree, the PA professional organizations should continue to be involved in developing a measured plan forward.