An Analysis of Mental Health Representation in the Technical Standards of Physician Assistant Programs

The purpose of this descriptive research project was to examine the technical standards of physician assistant (PA) programs for mental health keywords, phrases, and themes. Each program's standards were analyzed, and keywords, phrases, and major themes were extracted and compared. The results demonstrate that most US PA programs include language related to mental health in their technical standards including theme areas of emotional health, emotional stability, mental health, emotional well-being, and stress management. No patterns between the wording of mental health content and accreditation status emerged. Given the increasing proportion of mental health diagnoses among the general population, and, by extension, applicants to PA training programs, institutions are encouraged to re-evaluate their technical standards to ensure they remain current and appropriate and contain language inclusive of mental health domains such as emotional stability, emotional health, and stress management.