Diversity in Physician Assistant Education

INTRODUCTION The physician assistant (PA) profession has grown out of a need to increase the United States medical workforce in order to improve access and quality of care for the nation’s residents and underserved communities. The United States is a multiracial, multiethnic country, in which the ethnic diversity increases daily. It is predicted that within the next 50 years, no racial or ethnic group will be the majority of the US population.1 To accommodate these rapidly changing demographics, the decisions PA educators make must continue to take into account the impact of our national diversity. This article will examine some of the historical trends of diversity as it relates to PA education and discuss future directions for positive outcomes. Diversity in health professions education serves many purposes. A diverse health care workforce can decrease health disparities by increasing access as well as quality of health care, through congruence.2 A diverse workforce brings a variety of perspectives and experiences to the classroom and clinic, allowing PA students and faculty to benefit from interaction with individuals having backgrounds different from their own and providing a wider range of potential for research.2 This article addresses diversity in PA education in the areas of student enrollment, cultural competency curriculum, and organizational leadership. TRENDS IN PA EDUCATION AND OTHER PROFESSIONS The history of PA education has strong parallels with issues of diversity in higher education that started in an era of profound social change in our nation. The training of PAs in the early years was, in part, shaped by the outcomes of policies that arose from the civil rights movement. With the primary mission of providing health care to areas of the nation with limited access to care, a diverse workforce was an important early consideration for PA programs.3,4 Many of the first programs received federal funding that was awarded with the intent to increase the number, diversity, and geographic distribution of primary care providers. Not long after the first programs were established, PA programs began receiving federal funding via the Comprehensive Health Manpower Training Act (CHMTA) of 1971 to enhance primary care education and distribution as well as to increase the number of underrepresented minorities in the PA profession.3 When compared to other health professions schools, PA programs had a higher percentage of underrepresented minority students enrolled in their programs during the 1980s and 1990s.5,6,7 Figure 1 shows the percentage of different minority groups enrolled in each of the health profesKaren E. Mulitalo, MPAS, PA-C, is an assistant professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center PA Program, Dallas, Texas, and is chair of the PAEA Committee on Ethnic and Cultural Diversity (CECD). Howard Straker, MPH, PA-C, is an assistant professor at the George Washington University PA Program, Washington, DC, and a former member of the CECD.