PAEA Special Interest Group Consensus Statement on the Application of Artificial Intelligence in Physician Associate...

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping health care and higher education, yet physician associate (PA) education lacks a unified framework for its integration. This consensus statement from the PA Education Association (PAEA) AI Special Interest Group (SIG) offers guidance for PA programs navigating the challenges and opportunities presented by AI technologies.The PAEA AI SIG used a modified Delphi method following the RAND/UCLA Appropriateness Method framework. Following a twelve-month qualitative phase of iterative discussion and collaborative document development, 13 expert panelists rated 20 consensus position items on a 9-point Likert scale. Consensus was defined a priori as a median rating of 7 to 9 without disagreement (per the interpercentile range method for a 13-member panel).All 20 position items achieved consensus endorsement in round 1 (median range: 7-9; overall mean 8.3). The SIG achieved consensus across 5 domains: assessment and academic integrity, AI as a learning tool, admissions processes, faculty workflow, and AI competencies. Items with the greatest variation related to lifting AI prohibitions in application preparation (item 9, median 7) and restricting general-purpose AI in admissions review (item 10, median 8).This consensus statement provides a foundation for PA programs to transition from reactive policies toward proactive, evidence-informed AI integration strategies. The recommendations emphasize rigorous competency validation, equitable access considerations, and the primacy of human judgment in clinical education.