PA Program
Mission, Vision and Goals
In This Section
The Penn State Physician Assistant (PA) Program, located at the Penn State College of Medicine campus in Hershey, PA, is a 24-month, full-time graduate program enrolling 30 students each May.
Our first class graduated in May 2016.
Consistent with the goals of the entire College of Medicine, the PA Program emphasizes humanism in medicine, which takes into account the dedication required for individualized and personalized medicine.
Mission
The Penn State College of Medicine Physician Assistant Program’s mission is to prepare graduates to be academically, clinically, professionally and culturally competent physician assistants who are devoted to serving patients in their communities through the application of clinical reasoning, critical thinking, and evidence-based practice to deliver compassionate and comprehensive care.
Vision
The vision of the Penn State College of Medicine PA Program is to prepare motivated and academically qualified students with various lived experiences for certification and licensure as competent PAs that will improve healthcare delivery through education, direct patient care, and community outreach.
Goals of the PA Program
Success in meeting Goal 1: Met
To determine our effectiveness in meeting this goal each year consideration is given to the following data sources:
Cumulative and Science undergraduate GPA averages
Patient care experience
Retention rate
Graduation rate
Student Academic Profiles
The following table shows the average undergraduate GPA, Science GPA and GRE scores of matriculated students collected from CASPA applications displayed by graduating class. Acceptable alternatives to the GRE are: MCAT total score of at least 29 or higher (old version) or 505 (new version); or PCAT total score 75th percentile rank or higher; or DAT total score of 18 or higher.
Benchmark: 100% of admitted students meet the admission criteria, ≥ 3.0 UGP, ≥ 3.0 SciGPA, and completion of GRE (or MCAT)
Success in meeting Goal 2: Met
To determine our effectiveness in meeting this goal, we utilize the following data sources:
Number of courses that utilize Team-Based Learning (TBL), a critical thinking pedagogy, throughout the PA curriculum
Preceptor ratings of student’s critical thinking skills during clinical rotations
Performance on the PACKRAT in the area of "Diagnosis"
Performance on the PAEA End of Curriculum assessment in the task area of “Diagnosis”
Performance on the PANCE in the task area of “Formulating Most Likely Diagnosis”
Team-Based Learning (TBL)
Benchmark: 100% of systems-based modules must include TBL component.
Courses that utilize TBL:
Summer: PAS 783 Introductory Concepts in Medicine, PAS 763 Principles of Immunology, Hematology, and Oncology, PAS 784 Principles of Dermatology, PAS 785 Principles of Infectious Disease, PAS 786 Principles of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology
Fall: PAS 787 Principles of Endocrinology, PAS 789 Principles of Pulmonology, PAS 788 Principles of Nephrology and Genitourinary Disease, PAS 790 Principles of Cardiology, PAS 791 Principles of Gastroenterology
Spring: PAS 723 Principles of Behavioral Medicine, PAS 792 Principles of Neurology, PAS 793 Principles of Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Diseases, PAS 722 Principles of Human Sexuality and Reproductive Health, PAS 729 Principles of Emergency Medicine, PAS 794 Principles of Surgery, PAS 719 Evidence Based Medicine
Critical Thinking
This table summarizes the mean score of preceptor ratings of student’s critical thinking skills displayed by graduating class (The rating scale is 1=Strongly Disagree, 2=Disagree, 3=Neutral, 4=Agree, 5=Strongly Agree, 0=Neutral-excluded from calculations). Data is collected from the Preceptor Evaluation of the Student, in EValue. The evaluation is conducted at the end of each clinical rotation.
Benchmark: The benchmark for all curriculum-based evaluations (evaluations pertaining to the didactic or clinical year) is 3.5.
PACKRAT Performance
This table shows performance on the PACKRAT in the area of “diagnosis” for Year 1, Year 2 and compared with national score data displayed by graduating class.
Benchmark: ≥ national average
Summative
Performance on the PAEA End of Curriculum assessment in the task area of “Diagnosis” compared with national score data displayed by graduating class. Note: The program implemented use of PAEA End of Curriculum assessment in 2023.
Benchmark: ≥ national average
PANCE Performance
Performance on the PANCE in the task area of “Formulating Most Likely Diagnosis” compared with national score data displayed by graduating class. Note: National results are available after testing period.
Benchmark: ≥ national average
Success in meeting Goal 3: Partially Met
To determine our effectiveness in meeting this goal, we utilize the following data sources:
Preceptor ratings of student performance
Preceptor ratings of student preparedness for practice
Number of courses incorporating patient centered practices working as part of an interprofessional team or interdisciplinary learning with MD students.
Students ratings on the Graduating Student Exit Survey
Preceptor Ratings
The Preceptor Ratings table below summarizes the mean score of preceptor perception ratings of student’s “responsibility,” “professionalism,” “awareness,” and “initiative,” displayed by graduating class (The rating scale is 1=Strongly Disagree, 2=Disagree, 3=Neutral, 4=Agree, 5=Strongly Agree, 0=Neutral-excluded from calculations). Data is collected from the Preceptor Evaluation of the Student, in EValue. The evaluation is conducted at the end of each clinical rotation.
The benchmark for all curriculum-based evaluations (evaluations pertaining to the didactic or clinical year) is 3.5.
Preparedness for Practice
Percent of preceptors answering “Yes” to " Student is prepared to begin clinical practice,” collected from the Spring semester Preceptor Evaluation of the Student, displayed by graduating class.
Note: Effective the 22-23 academic year, the Preparedness for Practice question changed from a Likert scale of 1 (SD) to 5 (SA) to Yes/No. Percentage in previous years was calculated by greater than 2 = Yes, less than 3 = No.
Benchmark: 100% Preceptors answer “Yes” to “Student is prepared to begin clinical practice,” during Spring semester rotations.
Class of 2023: 97%
Class of 2024: 98%
Class of 2025: 98%
Courses
The Number of courses incorporating patient centered practices working as part of an interprofessional team or interdisciplinary learning with MD students. Attendance in these courses is required for program completion.
Benchmark: 100% Student Participation
100% of PA students participate in interdisciplinary learning in the following courses:
PAS 700 Professional Practice I
PAS 730 Professional Practice II
PAS 725 Professional Practice III
100% of PA students participate in interprofessional events in the following courses:
PAS 783 Humanistic Approaches to Healthcare Practices
Graduating Student Exit Surveys
The table below summarizes student perception of program competencies surrounding the development of patient centered professional clinicians working as part of an interprofessional team collected from the Graduating Student Exit Survey. The survey is conducted prior to graduation using Oasis (The rating scale is 1=Not at all prepared, 2= Little prepared, 3= somewhat prepared, 4=prepared, 5=very prepared).
Benchmark: ≥ 3.5