Education of military veterans in physician assistant programs

To assess the admission policies, experiences, and attitudes of physician assistant (PA) program directors regarding recruiting, admitting, and training military veterans after the announcement of the "Helping Veterans Become Physician Assistants" initiative.

A descriptive survey of 22 questions was distributed to all 173 PA program directors in the United States in April 2013. The survey covered years 2011 to 2013, although it was completed in June of 2013. The results of the survey were compared with the results of a similar survey that covered years 2008 through 2010.

One hundred and five (60.7%) program directors participated in this survey. Veterans were admitted into 88.1% of responding programs and accounted for an average of 4.0% of all students. One-third of programs (33%) accepted transfer credits for veterans' military training, and 20% accepted credits for off-duty education. One-third (33%) of programs participated in the Yellow Ribbon Program. Almost 60% of programs had military veteran faculty members. Active recruitment of military veteran students occurred in 31.2% of programs. Program directors described multiple benefits of, and barriers to, admitting and educating veterans.

For the years 2011 through 2013, as compared to 2008 through 2010, there was an increase in the percentage of PA programs that actively recruited veterans, considered veteran status in the admission process, admitted veterans, and contributed to their financial support. There was also an increased percentage of students with military experience matriculating into PA programs. However, barriers still exist for veterans seeking admission into PA programs, the most significant of which is academic preparedness for a graduate-level PA program.