Abstract
This mixed methods study examines the practices and perceptions of librarians/information specialists supporting physician associate (PA) programs in academic health sciences libraries in the United States and Canada. The findings highlight the essential role of librarians in PA programs and provide insight for librarians and other information professionals who are working or will be working with PA programs.
Objectives:
Due to the growing demand for healthcare providers in the United States, physician assistant or associate (PA) programs have rapidly expanded. There are 217 accredited Physician Associate (Studies) programs and another twenty new programs in development (https://www.ajmc.com/view/physician-assistants-associates-at-6-decades). The research on how academic health sciences libraries serve these programs is minimal. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory study is to examine the practices and perceptions of librarians/information specialists who are or will actively support PA programs.
Methods:
This study was completed in two phases In the first phase, a survey was sent in early 2022 to multiple listservs and librarians/information specialists listed as subject liaisons for the PA program. The survey included questions about the institution, age of the program, type of institution, instruction, research participation, and respondent willingness. Sixty-eight of these participants were willing to participate in semi-structured interviews. Fifteen semi-structured interviews were held over Zoom between July and December 2023. Corrected transcripts were coded using Taguette. Each researcher initially read and developed their own code for five of the interviews. They then collectively developed a codebook with agreed-upon definitions and used Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis procedure to develop and analyze themes.
Results:
Seventy-five surveys were analyzed. The majority indicated employment at a college/university with a dedicated health sciences/medical school or graduate program, providing support to other health sciences programs, providing library instruction, and being involved in some way with the research component of the PA program. From the interviews, six themes emerged from thematic analysis: From the interviews two main themes emerged from the thematic analysis. (1)“Relationship building” with the two subthemes: “proximity has value” and “perceptions of the role of the librarian,” and (2) “increased mental load and learning curve” with the two subthemes, “PA programs/students as unique” and “stressful financial barriers.”
Conclusions:
This study has increased the understanding of what resources and services PA programs use, how the PA program and students are unique, how librarians can partner with these programs, and how this affects librarian workload and library finances. These findings demonstrate the essential role of the librarian and library services to PA programs, students, faculty, and staff. Health sciences librarians have a critical opportunity to advance their role by enhancing collaboration, meeting resource needs, teaching information skills, and supporting evidence-based practice with PA programs. This evidence will assist both librarians/information specialists already working with PA programs and those at institutions developing new PA programs.