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Updated: Sep 19, 2025

The Resident-intruder Paradigm: A Standardized Test for Aggression, Violence and Social Stress
Published on: July 4, 2013
PAs' experience with violence and bias
1At the American Academy of Physician Associates in Alexandria, Va., Sean Kolhoff is senior research analyst, and Noël E. Smith is senior director of PA and industry research and analysis. The authors have disclosed no potential conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise.
Objective:
The purpose of this study was to explore the association between physician associates' (PAs') personal characteristics and the likelihood of their experiencing violence and bias from patients in the clinical setting.
Methods:
As part of a national survey conducted in 2022, 2,246 PAs agreed to participate in an optional module on their experiences with biased patient behavior and workplace violence.
Results:
The results of this study illustrate the significance of certain demographic characteristics as predictors of the likelihood a PA will experience biased patient behaviors. Overall, 89.8% of PAs experienced some form of bias from patients, with female PAs reporting having experienced bias across all but one assessed area. Nearly one-third (31.9%) of PAs had been threatened with physical harm by patients, and 6.1% had been physically harmed by patients.
Conclusions:
Although this work demonstrates an interaction between a PA's social identity and their experiences of bias in patient encounters, purposeful samples may be needed to better understand the correlation of a PA's personal characteristics with rates of patient violence.
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