Job attributes valued by physicians, PAs, and NPs: A cross-sectional survey.

OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the relative importance of job-, community-, and individual-related factors that contribute to job choice among physicians, physician assistants (PAs), and NPs, to inform policy options to recruit clinicians to rural areas. METHODS: A cross-sectional online survey of PA preceptors from three institutions in two states. Participants were asked to rate the importance of 16 job-, community-, and individual-related factors when choosing a job. RESULTS: We received responses from 45 physicians, 74 PAs, and 15 NPs (24.2% response rate), who rated most job-, community-, and individual-related factors as important; ratings were similar across clinicians. PAs rated loan repayment programs and work hours higher than physicians, though the magnitude of the difference was small. CONCLUSIONS: Clinicians similarly rated many factors as important. A better understanding of the tradeoffs clinicians are willing to make between these factors when making a job choice is critical to increase the attractiveness of rural positions.