ABSTRACT Objective: This study investigated educational debt, repayment strategies, and other factors potentially related to recently certified physician associates/assistants' (PAs') choice or preference for primary care versus all other specialties. Methods: A national dataset from 2023 of recently certified PAs was used to conduct quantitative and qualitative analyses. Analyses were conducted separately for PAs who had accepted a clinical position and those who had not accepted a clinical position. Results: Overall, 88% of respondents reported having educational debt, with 13.5% owing $200,000 or more. PAs from backgrounds underrepresented in medicine had accrued higher educational debt than their counterparts. Educational debt was significantly associated with specialty choices/preferences: PAs with higher debt were more likely to opt for nonprimary care specialties. Qualitative analyses revealed that PAs rely on different strategies for repaying their loans, depending on whether they choose or prefer primary care or nonprimary care specialties. Conclusions: These results suggest that educational debt plays a role in specialty selection, but other factors also are significant.

Andrzej Kozikowski

Mirela Bruza-Augatis

Dawn Morton-Rias

Kasey Puckett

Colette Jeffery

Alicia Quella

Sheila Mauldin

Joshua Goodman

JAAPA

​​​JAAPA is the peer-reviewed clinical journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA). Published for more than 25 years, its mission is to support the ongoing education and advancement of physician assistants (PAs) by publishing current information and research on clinical, health policy, and professional issues.

Published monthly, JAAPA's award-winning editorial includes:

-Clinical review articles (with AAPA-approved Category I CME in each issue)-
Case reports-
Clinical departments-
Original health services research-
Articles on issues of professional interest to PAs

JAAPA (Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants) is the peer-reviewed clinical journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA). Published for over 25 years, its mission is to support the ongoing education and advancement of physician assistants (PAs) by publishing current information and research on clinical, health policy, and professional issues. Published monthly, JAAPA's award-winning editorial includes: clinical review articles (with AAPA-approved Category I CME in each issue), case reports, clinical departments, original health services research, and articles on issues of professional interest to PAs.

JAAPA（美国医师助理协会官方期刊）是美国医师助理协会（AAPA）的一本经过同行评审的临床期刊。该期刊已出版超过25年，旨在通过发布关于临床、健康政策和专业问题的最新信息和研究，支持医师助理（PAs）的持续教育和职业发展。JAAPA每月出版，获奖的编辑内容包括：临床综述文章（每期均附有AAPA批准的I类CME）、病例报告、临床部门、原创健康服务研究，以及与PAs专业相关的问题文章。

Category	Quartile
医学	4
医学, 医学内科	4

The effect of education debt on PAs' specialty choice or preference

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Journal Info

Category	Quartile
MEDICINE, GENERAL & INTERNAL	3