PA Leaders of Tomorrow: Evaluating the Landscape of Leadership Training

Purpose: Current research demonstrates that effective leadership has been shown to increase quality of care as well as result in improved patient outcomes. In addition, the opportunity for PAs to obtain organized leadership positions in administration, education, and healthcare policy is increasing. As the nature of the PA profession innately requires leadership skills to work effectively on medical teams and advocate for patients, this session will present evidence on the current utilization of formal leadership training in PA education and provide participants with ideas for identifying curricular opportunities within and between programs. Learning Objectives: Evaluate the need for effective leadership in healthcare systems and examine the impact of effective leadership on the delivery of high-quality patient centered care. Evaluate the current landscape of PAs in healthcare leadership positions in the United States. Assess the current state of leadership training in PA education including what content is delivered, how it is delivered, and how it is assessed. Identify specific areas of leadership training, such as teamwork, conflict resolution, communication skills, and patient-safety, which would be most effective as programs design leadership curricula. Discuss opportunities for programs to collaborate on the topic of leadership training to enhance this curriculum across PA programs. Engagement Strategy: At the beginning of the session, the presenters will review current literature on PAs in leadership and will demonstrate the need for more information about the types of leadership training currently being delivered in PA programs. The presenters will then utilize small groups to facilitate a roundtable discussion on the level of leadership training happening within their own curriculum. Using a jigsaw approach, each small group will be assigned a specific topic area of leadership curriculum development and determine ideas for incorporation of their assigned topic into PA program curriculum. Lastly, each small group will present their ideas for increasing formal leadership training across PA education curriculum to the larger group. The session will culminate with a 5-minute question and answer session. Evidence from Research: Current literature has demonstrated that quality of care and improved patient outcomes are tied to effective leadership. Additionally, research has demonstrated that one third of PAs believe that they are in a position of leadership, and 36% were interested in attaining a leadership role. Additionally, new PAs were the most likely to be interested in a leadership position which further supports the need for leadership training and development in PA curricula