PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Karen Roberts
AU  - Vari M Drennan
AU  - Jeannie Watkins
TI  - Physician associate graduates in England: a cross-sectional survey of work careers
AID  - 10.7861/fhj.2021-0184
DP  - 2022 Mar 01
TA  - Future Healthcare Journal
PG  - 5--10
VI  - 9
IP  - 1
4099  - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/9/1/5.short
4100  - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/9/1/5.full
SO  - Future Healthc J2022 Mar 01; 9
AB  - Physician associates (PAs) are a new healthcare professional group in the UK. While PAs have been known as a stable but flexible workforce in the USA for over 50 years, little is known about their career paths in the UK's NHS. A cross sectional online survey (January 2020 – May 2020) of graduates from the longest running UK PA course investigated stability and factors influencing job retention or movement. One-hundred and sixty-two (71%) graduates provided a full response. Descriptive analysis was by early graduates (2006–2013), mid-graduates (2014–2017) and recent graduates (2018–2020). Early and mid-graduates held their first jobs for a mean of 3 years. For early graduates, the longest held job was 11 years, with a mode of 7 years. Enjoyment of the work, learning opportunities and working with supportive consultants were the most highly rated factors in PA job retention.