PAs Need More Than Credentials: Doctoral Education Must Advance the Profession

Kathleen A. Ferrell, DMSc, MPAS, PA-C

Center for Esophageal Diseases and Swallowing

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology

The PA profession should embrace doctoral education—but it must do so with purpose.

A doctoral degree should not become another expensive credential that clinicians feel pressured to earn simply to remain competitive. Nor should it create a false divide between PAs who hold a doctorate and those who do not. The PA profession was built on rigorous medical education, clinical competence, and a commitment to expanding access to care. Doctoral education should strengthen those values, not distract from them.

The real question is not whether PAs should pursue doctorates. Many already should and will. The question is whether doctoral education will prepare PAs to lead the changes healthcare desperately needs.

Today’s PAs are not only clinicians. They are practice leaders, educators, researchers, quality-improvement specialists, administrators, policy advocates, and innovators. As healthcare becomes more complex, the profession needs PAs who can influence systems-not merely work within them. A well-designed doctoral education can develop the skills to analyze policy, lead interdisciplinary teams, improve outcomes, conduct meaningful research, and advocate effectively for patients and the profession.

That matters now more than ever.

PAs are seeking greater practice authority, elimination of unnecessary supervision requirements, and wider adoption of the PA Licensure Compact. Those goals will not be achieved through clinical excellence alone. They require PAs who understand legislation, reimbursement, organizational leadership, data, and public advocacy. They require clinicians who can sit at decision-making tables and make a compelling case for policies that improve access to care.

Doctoral education can help prepare those leaders.

But the profession must be honest about what it should not become. A doctorate should not be required for entry into PA practice. The master’s-level PA education model has produced highly capable, well-trained clinicians for decades. Requiring an entry-level doctorate would increase the cost and length of training at a time when healthcare needs more clinicians—not more barriers to becoming one.

Instead, doctoral education should be a meaningful avenue for professional advancement. It should be accessible to practicing PAs, grounded in real-world healthcare challenges, and designed to produce leaders who can improve care beyond their individual exam rooms.

Professional development must also extend beyond formal degrees. Every PA should have access to mentorship, leadership training, continuing education, policy engagement, and opportunities to grow throughout their career. A new graduate and a seasoned PA may need different tools, but both should have a clear pathway to expand their impact.

The future of the profession depends on refusing to accept a limited role. PAs should not be seen only as clinicians who fill gaps in a strained system. They should be recognized as leaders capable of redesigning that system.

Doctoral education, when pursued with intention, can help make that future possible. It can equip PAs to lead programs, influence policy, teach the next generation, and advocate for practice environments that put patient access first. The goal is not more letters after a name. The goal is more prepared, confident, and influential PAs.

The profession does not need credentials for credentials’ sake. It needs leaders. Doctoral education should help create them.