Benchmarking the scholarly productivity of physician assistant educators: an update

Success in scholarship has long challenged physician assistant (PA) educators, most of whom enter academia with little experience in research or writing. Since most PA programs grant a professional graduate degree, and expectations for PA faculty typically focus on teaching and service rather than research, it is reasonable for promotion and tenure decisions to be based on comparisons from within the PA education realm. Providing such benchmarks is the focus of this report. Predictors of successful publication and trends over time are also explored briefly.

De-identified data from the 2010 Faculty Survey were obtained from the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA), including basic demographics, faculty rank and program role, degree, and number of peer-reviewed publications. PAEA distributed the online survey in March 2010 to all faculty associated with member programs. The response rate was 35%, N = 425. SPSS version 19 was used for data analysis.

Respondents were 58.1% female. The mean number of publications reported by respondents over their entire career was 4.2, and over the last 3 years was 1.7. The respective median numbers of publications were one and zero. Logistic regression analysis identified three significant predictors of publication success: number of years in PA education, previous publications, and highest degree attained.

This study seeks to provide rational benchmarks for PA program faculty seeking promotion or tenure. Previous publications and highest degree attained are key factors predicting successful publication. There is a continuing need for faculty development activities to help PA educators publish successfully.