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The Design and Implementation of a Professional Development Program for Physician Assistants in an Academic Emergency Department
Author(s) -
Monette Derek L.,
Baccari Brian,
Paskind Laura,
Reisman David,
Temin Elizabeth S.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
aem education and training
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.49
H-Index - 9
ISSN - 2472-5390
DOI - 10.1002/aet2.10382
Subject(s) - mentorship , scholarship , emergency department , professional development , medical education , academic program , program director , academic department , internship , service (business) , medicine , nursing , political science , higher education , business , marketing , law
Physician assistants ( PA s) are expanding their role in academic emergency departments ( ED s). There are no published models for how to integrate PA s into departmental educational activities, scholarship, and operations outside of a PA residency approach. We created a professional development program for PA s that would provide them with opportunities to integrate into all aspects of our department mission and provide them with a forum for personal growth and ongoing education. The program provides PA s with resources including protected time and mentorship to become a content expert in an academic area of interest. We review our 5‐year experience creating and implementing this program, which has grown from six PA s in 2013 to 24 PA s in 2018. These PA s now have formal roles in five of our eight divisions, participating in education, administrative, and research activities. The retention rate for PA s in this program is 90.2% versus 85.7% for PA s at our department who are not in the program. Our experience and results demonstrate the value of investing in the professional development and continued education of PA s at an academic ED versus the traditional model of service and the potential for integration into all aspects of an academic ED 's mission.