The Academic Fellowship in Physician Assistant Education

Abstract

The rapid growth of the physician assistant (PA) profession has required PA programs to increase their efforts in the recruitment and retention of experienced faculty. One approach was the establishment of the academic fellowship concept in 1998. Since then, 5 PA programs have designed fellowships, 3 of which were implemented and graduated fellows. To institute and develop an academic fellowship takes time, resources, and buy-in from faculty and students. The structure of the curricula within the fellowships has been similar since 1998 and includes faculty development opportunities, lecture development and delivery, student assessment, small group facilitation, interprofessional education, and committee work. Most fellowship-trained educators have entered faculty positions after completion of their fellowship. They appear to use sound educational strategies in their teaching and are successful in their scholarly productivity. Academic fellowships are just one route in the transition to PA education, and while they may require a significant investment from the sponsoring institution and program, they can provide a unique opportunity for PAs to immerse themselves in the faculty experience before the full commitment to a career change.

Barriers to Research: A National Survey of Physician Assistant Faculty

“…Previous mentorship programs and faculty development fellowships have struggled with recruitment, but the participants in those programs have shown increased time devoted to scholarship and faculty activities, including research output. 7,15,18,31 Further exploration into the strengths and weaknesses of these programs might prove useful to foster introductory and practical resources for those educators with a budding interest in research.…”

“…3,5,13 While PAs traditionally enter the profession to deliver patient care, academia requires them to acquire a different skill set. 14,15 Evidence-based medicine and the ability to critically evaluate scientific literature became an accreditation requirement of PA curricula relatively recently. In the PA profession, the education of our senior educators-who in other professions act as mentors and inspire and sponsor junior faculty-took place well before the teaching of research methods.…”