Rural Healthcare on the Brink: Federal Student Aid and the Future Health Workforce

Across the country, rural communities face growing healthcare workforce shortages that threaten access to timely, high-quality care. One component of addressing workforce shortages is ensuring students have access to the federal student aid necessary to complete their programs and enter the PA profession.

On April 17 from 12:00-1:00 p.m. ET, PAEA will be hosting a virtual briefing for congressional staff and interested stakeholders exploring key cost drivers in health professions education, how federal student aid policies influence the health workforce pipeline, and how the definition of “professional student” for federal student loan purposes will impact access to care. During the session, congressional efforts to ensure access to professional student loans for licensed, postbaccalaureate health students like the Professional Student Degree Act will also be discussed.

Featured Speakers:

• Michael Roscoe, PhD, PA-C, president of PAEA and the department chair and program director for the University of Tampa PA program
• Aaron Woodall, MPAS, PA-C, assistant professor at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences PA program and a member of PAEA’s Government Relations Steering Committee
• Justin Nelson, PA-S, PA student at the Keck Graduate Institute PA program
• Tyler Smith, MPH, chief policy officer at PAEA