Bethel University receives Rural Physician Assistant Workforce Pathways Initiative grant

Bethel University has received a $225,000 grant from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development’s Rural Healthcare Workforce Development Initiatives program for the Rural Physician Assistant Workforce Pathways Initiative. The grant will assist the university in preparing students to become physician assistants in rural and medically underserved communities.

The university is working in collaboration with West Tennessee Healthcare Henry County Hospital in Paris, the Northwest Tennessee Workforce Development Board, the American Job Centers of Northwest Tennessee, and Northwest Tennessee Adult Education throughout the Rural Physician Assistant Workforce Pathways Initiative. 

According to an article on Bethel University’s website, Dr. Delecia Parker, who serves as the dean of the College of Health Sciences, was quoted as saying of the grant funding, "This grant is an investment in the health of rural Tennessee. Every clinical rotation our students complete in a rural community is a chance for them to see the need firsthand and to build the relationships that lead to a career there. By supporting the preceptors who make those rotations possible, we are strengthening the pipeline of providers for the communities that need them most."

The grant funding, which will run through June 30, 2027, will be utilized in four main ways, all of which are intended to help physician assistant students become prepared to practice in rural and medically underserved communities in Tennessee. 

Preceptor stipends will receive the largest share of the funding at $130,000. Preceptors are the practicing providers who train and mentor students in rural clinical settings. This funding should support between 110 and 130 rural rotations until the end of the grant project.

Trent Scates, the director of the Physician Assistant Program, said of the program’s preceptors, "Our preceptors are the backbone of clinical education, and rural preceptors give their time in settings where every hour matters. This funding lets us recognize that commitment, by providing the clinical hubs our students depend on and give more students the kind of hands-on rural experience that shapes where they choose to practice."

Of the remaining funding, $69,870 will go toward replacing and upgrading the equipment students use to practice their clinical skills, including high-fidelity simulation mannequins and procedural task trainers. Students will be able to practice on this equipment to get a handle on the skills before they start their clinical rotations.

The rest of the funding will be used to provide clinical uniforms for approximately 50 students, and to expand the number of clinical rotation sites the program will be able to place students within.

Dr. Joseph R. Hames, university provost, said, "This award reflects the strength of the Physician Assistant Program and the quality of the faculty who lead it. It also reflects our commitment to academic programs that answer a real need. Preparing clinicians who are ready to serve rural Tennessee is exactly the kind of work a university like Bethel should be doing."

For more information about Bethel University, visit the school’s website.