Physician assistant education program director attrition and consideration to leave

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Health Professions Education
• Physician Assistant Studies

Background:

• Growing number of PA programs necessitates understanding leadership retention.
• Current Physician Assistant (PA) education program directors (PDs) are considering leaving their roles.
• Addressing PD attrition is vital for the stability of PA education.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore factors influencing Physician Assistant (PA) education program directors' (PDs) consideration to leave their leadership positions.
• To identify predictors of PDs considering departure from their roles.
• To examine the relationship between burnout and the decision to leave the PD position.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the 2019 Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA) Faculty and Directors Survey.
• Employed multiple logistic regression analyses to identify predictors of PDs considering leaving.
• Conducted multiple regression analyses to explore factors related to burnout.

Main Results:

• Burnout was a modest predictor for PDs considering leaving their roles.
• Job stress, job satisfaction, and job experience showed a modest relationship with consideration for leaving.
• Factors like lack of personal time (OR=5.29) and lack of faculty respect (OR=0.28) were significant predictors.

Conclusions:

• PD consideration of leaving is complex, influenced by burnout and other variables.
• Findings inform strategies to address PA PD attrition.
• Further research on burnout as a mediating variable and specific attrition predictors is recommended.