Research Fellows Examine the PA-Specific Doctoral Degrees and Trauma-Informed Care 

PAEA is pleased to announce the 2024-2025 AAPA-PAEA Research Fellows, Sarah Bolander, DMSc, PA-C, assistant professor at Northern Arizona University, and Katherine Thompson, MCHS, PA-C, an urgent care PA at Snoqualmie Valley Health in Snoqualmie, WA.  

In recent years, new PA-specific doctoral degree programs have developed along with an expansion of PAs entering nonclinical roles. As a result, PA professional organizations continue to explore the implications of an entry-level PA doctoral degree.

Dr. Bolander brings a perspective from her own experience completing a Doctor of Medical Science (DMSc) degree as well as teaching in a DMSc program. The degree helped her with her roles and responsibilities in academia, expanded her networking opportunities, and improved her ability to participate in interdisciplinary teams. It has broadened her teaching and research opportunities.

As an adjunct faculty member at a DMSc program, Dr. Bolander has found that the lower cost and shorter duration of PA-specific doctoral programs, compared to other types of doctorates, may provide PAs a more accessible pathway to pursue a doctoral degree Therefore, research aimed at helping to better understand the characteristics and potential motivating factors for PAs that pursue a PA-specific doctorate would be valuable.  

Dr. Bolander’s project, PA-Specific Doctoral Degrees in Practice: Exploring Demographics and Practice Characteristics Among PAs, investigates whether there are differences in demographics, practice characteristics, and employment trends among PAs with PA-specific doctoral degrees, such as DMS/DMSc and DScPAS/DPA, compared to PAs without doctoral degrees or PAs with other types of doctoral degrees, such as PhD, EdD, and DHSc. The goal is to enhance understanding of the evolving landscape related to advanced education within the PA profession and the impact on PAs in both clinical and non-clinical roles.

Thompson’s project, Trauma-Informed Care Training and Impact on Employee Wellness Scores, examines the impact of a trauma-informed system on workplace wellness, employee retention, and employee connectivity. While trauma-informed care gets a fair amount of attention from a patient perspective, Thompson asserts that it is important to apply the values to the employee perspective.

The project will enroll every employee at Snoqualmie Valley Hospital CARES Collaborative (SVH CARES) in a two-part educational series, covering the idea of trauma-informed practice and workplaces and providing them with individualized opportunities to practice trauma-informed care.

The project aligns with her interest and PhD area of study, which is interpersonal violence, specifically the intersection between interpersonal violence and healthcare. Thompson asserts that providers need to be empowered and connected through educational resources and institutional support to effectively intervene and even prevent interpersonal violence. 

In her project, Thompson will use pre- and post-surveys of each employee to measure employee retention, opinion of the hospital system, and workplace wellness. The goal is to find opportunities for hospital systems to better support their vital workforce of health care providers and support staff to prevent burnout.

Thompson states that in the post-pandemic health care landscape, identifying and managing burnout is important to retain institutional knowledge and generational knowledge in the workforce. The nature of health care limits the freedoms and perks of other career fields, such as unlimited PTO, flexible work hours, or short shifts, so there need to be creative alternatives to support our workforce that consider the burdens that they carry.  

Both fellows look forward to the opportunity to have dedicated research time, learn more about data sources and medical research organizations, and grow their research careers. They admit that research can be intimidating but appreciate the support they received in their applications and encourage others to take the leap as well. No matter the outcome it is all part of the learning process. 

“The very worst that can happen is that you can receive some valuable feedback that you can apply to future applications. The very best is that your research dreams will come true,” Thompson said.

We congratulate the new fellows on joining the growing Fellowship cohort and look forward to seeing their research findings.  

Meet the 2024-2025 AAPA-PAEA Research Fellows and reconnect with the rest of the Fellowship cohort at the AAPA-PAEA Research Fellows Luncheon on October 9, from 12–1 p.m. ET and the AAPA-PAEA Research Fellowship Presentations on October 10 from 1:30–2:20 p.m. ET at the 2024 PAEA Education Forum in Washington, DC.  

If you are interested in other research funding, check out the Don Pedersen Research Grants Program and the Faculty Generated Research Grant. If you have questions about our research funding and support programs or are interested in mentorship, contact PAEA Research at Research@PAEAonline.org or call 703-651-8540.