So Glad You Stayed: A Qualitative Exploration of Long-Term PA Educators' Reasons for Staying in Academia

Date of Award

5-2023

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

Institution Granting Degree

Trevecca Nazarene University

Cedarville University School or Department

Kinesiology and Allied Health

First Advisor

Dr. Ryan Longnecker

Keywords

Physician Assistant, PA, education, retention, collegiality, institutional support, faculty development

Abstract

This study investigated the factors, both personally and institutionally, long-term physician assistant (PA) faculty associate with longevity in their field. A qualitative, phenomenological design utilized extended interview interactions between the researcher and participants to understand why these individuals have continued in PA education for more than ten years when many faculty leave in the first three years of teaching. The personal traits of flexibility and organization were named most often as beneficial for PA educators. The data's thematic analysis revealed that collegiality, strong programmatic and institutional support, and faculty development starting with a formal onboarding process were associated with PA faculty retention. These themes correlated well with a literature review on faculty retention and job satisfaction in medical educators.

Comments

© Faye D. Hodgin, 2023. All rights reserved.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Author Type

Faculty

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