Indicators of Success
PA Department Goal Achievements
MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE
The NCCPA board scores are a good indicator of medical knowledge. The goal of the PA department is to obtain a first time passing rate in the 90 percent range. Three of the classes that graduated in the past five years have passing rates greater than 90%, most importantly the two most recent classes.
In the graduate survey sent to the most two recent classes, 95% of the alumni agreed or strongly agreed that the course work provided solid fundamental knowledge for rotations. The practical department goal is for at least 90% of the graduates to agree or strongly agree.
COMMUNICATION SKILLS
The PA Department goal is that at least 90% of our students to average “3”or higher on all questions in the assessment tool that pertain to communication in the summative Problem Oriented Physical given to second year PA students.
99% of the students in the last three graduating classes received a score of three or higher.
In the graduate survey sent to the most three recent classes, 94-96% of the alumni agreed or strongly agreed that the communication skills taught in the program are used by the graduates (N=134). The practical department goal is for at least 90% of the graduates to agree or strongly agree.
The PA Department goal is that all students earn a passing grade in clinical education rotations. The grade is composed of a preceptor evaluation, end of rotation exam, and sample patient note.
For the last three graduating classes, 100% of all students have passed all their rotations. No unsatisfactory grades were recorded.
The PA Department goal is for all students to achieve at least a score of 4 out of 5 points in areas of professionalism on the Clinical Preceptor Evaluation Form given to second-year PA students. For the most recent graduating class, all students were above 4 points. 94% of the class was in the 4.9 to 5.0 range.
The practical PA Department working goal is that at least 80% of the students correctly diagnose a patient in a summative Problem Oriented Physical Examinations given to second year students near the end of the curriculum.
For the last two graduating classes 87% of the students were able to correctly diagnose a patient based on history, physical exam and laboratory findings in a Problem Oriented Exam situation.
The graduate survey sent to the most recent graduating class (response rate = 65%) indicated that 94% either moderately or greatly agreed that critical thinking skills learned in the program assist in decision making in their daily practice.
The program goal is for all students to achieve a passing grade on the evidence based examination taught during the first-year of the PA curriculum.
100% of the students in the last two graduating classes have achieved passing scores, with 92% of the students achieving scores between 90-100%.
One assessment in the graduate survey address evidence based medicine and 97.8% of the graduates in the last three classes agree or strongly agreed that they integrate scientific knowledge into clinical decision making. The Program goal is for at least 90% of alumni to agree or strongly agree.
ARC-PA STUDENT ATTRITION TEMPLATE
| Graduated Classes | Class of 2019 | Class of 2020 | Class of 2021 |
| Maximum entering class size (as approved by ARC-PA) | 98 | 98 | 98 |
| Entering class size | 98 | 98 | 98 |
| Graduates | 93 | 95 | 91 |
| * Attrition rate | 5% | 3% | 7% |
| **Graduation rate | 95% | 97% | 93% |
From the PA Alumni:
- 1 became a California Academy of Physician Assistants (CAPA) President
- 2 became California elected CAPA Student Representative Board Member
- 3 became CAPA elected Board members
- 1 became a Florida State PA Academy President
- 1 became a member of the California Physician Assistant Committee
From the PA Faculty:
- 2 became CAPA presidents
- 1 became CAPA vice president
- 4 became CAPA board members
- 5 became involved in various AAPA committees or subcommittees
- 8 have presented CME lectures or workshops at AAPA, CAPA or PAEA
