Abstract
The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the determinants of voluntary retentionwithin the Army National Guard (ARNG) Physician Assistant (PA) corps. This
population is essential to military medical readiness. The literature review synthesizes
major theoretical models, including Price’s Causal Model of Turnover, Proximal
Withdrawal State Theory, the Unfolding Model, and Job Embeddedness Theory. It
highlights the multifactorial nature of turnover and retention. Employing a nonexperimental,
quantitative cross-sectional survey design, the study collected data from
currently serving ARNG PAs across 14 states and territories. Key factors studied include
financial benefits, career opportunities, family support, perceptions of current duties, and
deployment history. The findings of the study indicate that, while there was a trend
towards significance for financial factors and deployment experiences, these were not
traditionally strong relationships in a statistical sense. Career satisfaction and family
support in this sample show little influence on retention decisions, contradicting the
common belief. From this study, it appears that retention decisions are highly
individualized and multifactorial. In response, the proposed recommendations involve
developing flexible career pathways and adaptive leadership strategies to better
accommodate the diversity of provider needs, enhance retention, and meet the ARNG's
needs. I further recommend additional qualitative research to refine the understanding of
retention factors and inform future policy development.
Keywords: ARNG, Physician Assistant, medical provider, retention, voluntary turnover,
PWST, causal model, adaptive leadership