PA clinical postgraduate training: A half-century of development.

ABSTRACT: Clinical postgraduate training (CPGT) for physician assistants (PAs) began in 1971. A half-century later, the United States has 144 programs in 33 specialties. A growing and aging population, specialization in healthcare, and changes in graduate medical education have created new opportunities for PAs to consider this alternative following graduation. Postgraduate training is attractive to PA graduates who desire advanced skills and deeper understanding in a medical or surgical specialty. This article describes the history of CPGT programs, training, and establishment of an accreditation process for educational standardization.

Perceived efficacy and utility of postgraduate physician assistant training programs.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to explore graduates' perceptions of the efficacy and perceived utility of postgraduate physician assistant (PA) programs. METHODS: Using an online tool, a survey was sent to postgraduate PA program graduates that contained demographic questions and descriptive questions examining the perceived utility of completing a postgraduate PA program. RESULTS: Surveys were e-mailed to 149 graduates of postgraduate PA programs; 113 responded (75% response rate). After completing postgraduate training, 97% of graduates felt their training made them more competitive in the job market; 74% believed time from orientation to full productivity was reduced; and 95% would recommend completion of a postgraduate training program. CONCLUSIONS: Completion of a postgraduate PA program is an alternative to on-the-job training. Graduates perceived that the benefits from these programs include increased competitiveness in the job market, decreased onboarding time, and overall enhancement of their professional careers.

Postgraduate clinical education of physician assistants.

PURPOSE: Physician assistant (PA) postgraduate clinical training programs have existed since 1971. There are anecdotal reports of increasing numbers of programs available in the United States, although a reliable means of identifying and tracking such programs has not been available. The purpose of this study was to describe the current state of postgraduate, clinical educational programs for PAs based on defined criteria for study inclusion and to propose the use of these criteria for use by future investigators to determine trends in program development. METHODS: All programs potentially meeting the study criteria for postgraduate PA clinical programs, including programs actively enrolling PAs and that provide didactic and clinical instruction of 6 or more months duration, were contacted to participate in an online survey. RESULTS: A total of 49 programs (42 nonmilitary) programs were included with 22 nonmilitary programs opening for enrollment in or after 2008. Most programs enrolled one or two PAs annually. All respondents of nonmilitary programs indicated that a certificate of completion was provided and no academic credit or degree was offered. A variety of didactic and clinical instructional methods were used. Most sites also provided clinical rotations for PA students, and many required PA residents to participate in student teaching. Although few programs have been accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA), most programs are pursuing, or plan to apply for, accreditation. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this survey provide an up-to-date report on the status of PA postgraduate clinical training programs. The investigators recommend future studies use the same criteria for inclusion to establish future trends in program development.