PAEA develops curriculum and resources to help our members address the most pressing issues facing the profession.
Entry-Level Doctoral Degree
In 2019, the PAEA membership voted to further explore the implications of transitioning to an entry-level doctoral degree. Recognizing that this change would bring widespread implications for our members, the profession, and the broader health care landscape, PAEA launched a comprehensive review of the following core question:
Should PA education shift toward awarding a doctoral degree as the entry-level degree for the profession?
As a part of this review, PAEA hosted a Doctoral Summit in Charlotte, NC in March, 2023. PAEA invited over 60 participants including industry leaders, clinicians, students, faculty, and stakeholders from other health professions to inform PAEA positional policy related to the entry-level PA doctoral degree.
PAEA Leadership Blog
With all that we faced together during the past year and all that is yet to come, we know that communication, transparency, and unity are more vital than ever. To that end, we are excited to launch the PAEA Leadership Blog, a channel where Association leaders can speak directly about current topics impacting PA education and the profession.
PA Title Change: Frequently Asked Questions
As a component of our commitment to ensure that programs, faculty, and students are provided with the resources necessary to navigate the recently-passed title change initiative, we’ve developed a list of Frequently Asked Questions to help our members better understand how the Title Change is unfolding.
COVID-19 Information Center
PAEA has developed the COVID-19 Information Center to give our members a central place to go for the information they need regarding the ongoing pandemic and how it is affecting PA programs, faculty, and students.
Competencies for the PA Profession
The Competencies for the PA Profession, developed and approved through a collaborative process involving the four national PA organizations, are designed to define the “specific knowledge, skills, and attitudes that PAs in all clinical specialties and settings in the United States should be able to demonstrate throughout their careers.” They provide a roadmap to guide lifelong learning throughout a PA’s career.
Opioid Epidemic
Since the opioid epidemic was first declared a public health emergency by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in October 2017, PAEA has implemented three significant federally funded initiatives intended to bolster PA education’s response to the crisis:
Core Competencies for New PA Graduates
Creating a Shared Skillset with Core Competencies
While each program is responsible for designing its own unique curricula, there is the need to establish consistency in the foundational knowledge, skills, and attitudes required of all new graduates. This is PAEA’s first attempt at developing a set of competencies designed for use by PA programs.