Burnout, Personal, and Occupational Factors as Predictors of Physician Assistant Faculty Intent to Leave After the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Introduction This study addressed whether burnout, personal, or occupational factors predicted physician assistant (PA) faculty intent to leave and established a new postpandemic national benchmark for PA faculty burnout and intent to leave. Methods In spring 2023, a nonexperimental, cross-sectional survey was emailed to 2031 PA faculty drawn from program faculty listings and the PA Education Association member database. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the sample, and a multiple regression analysis was conducted to analyze the predictive ability of the independent variables on intent to leave. Results The response rate was 30% (609 of 2031), with 496 responses (24.4%) included in the analysis. The sample reflected the population of PA faculty. The regression model significantly predicted intent leave (P < .001). The adjusted R 2 was 0.46, indicating the combination of independent variables predicted 46% of the variance in PA faculty intent to leave. Significant predictors included emotional exhaustion and identifying as multiracial (P < .001), control and values (P < .01), and depersonalization, fairness, rewards, and clinical year faculty role (P < .05). The sample had moderate levels of burnout and experienced burnout at higher rates than in prepandemic studies. Physician assistant faculty in administrative leadership roles had the highest levels of burnout and intent to leave. Despite this, PA faculty intent to leave measures were similar to prepandemic levels. Discussion Several of the predictive variables were related to well-being and social-emotional aspects of the workplace. These findings have implications for institutional policies and practices that support faculty well-being and workplace culture to enhance retention.