Filling the Gaps: Predicting Physician Assistant Students' Interest in Practicing in Medically Underserved Areas

Physician assistants (PAs) are well situated to provide much-needed care in medically underserved areas (MUAs). Therefore, it is critical to understand the factors that make PA students want to practice in MUAs. The current study investigated how 3 student characteristics-underrepresented minority (URM) status, geographic origin, and family socioeconomic status-were associated with PA students' interest in practicing in MUAs after graduation.

Upon their matriculation in 2016, 4329 PA students provided key demographic information (ie, gender, age, race, ethnicity, geographic origin, and an indicator of family socioeconomic status) and reported their interest in working in an MUA after graduation. Multiple linear regression was used to predict students' level of interest in practicing in an MUA, and multiple logistic regression was used to predict students' likelihood of expressing interest in practicing in an MUA. All analyses controlled for students' gender and age at matriculation.

All 3 student characteristics were independently associated with interest in practicing in an MUA, such that URM students, students from rural backgrounds, and less affluent students expressed greater interest in practicing in an MUA after graduation compared with their non-URM, suburban, and more affluent counterparts.

Demographic commonalities may drive PA students' interest in practicing in an MUA after graduation.