Predictors of Academic Success for Underrepresented Minorities in Physician Assistant Programs

Abstract

The physician assistant (PA) profession was developed as part of an effort to relieve a nationwide physician shortage. Rural and medically underserved areas were and in many cases continue to be especially affected by this shortage.1 The percentage of underrepresented minorities (URM)— defined here as African Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans whose representation in medical and allied health schools does not mirror their percentage of the general population—is increasing and represents 24% of the U.S. population. This number is expected to increase to 35% by 2030. Unfortunately, minority representation in medical and other allied health professional schools has not kept pace with community needs.2 The 2002 AAPA Physician Assistant Census reported that approximately 9.6% of PAs responding to the census survey were non-white.3 In the face of current challenges to traditional affirmative action programs, improvement in URM representation in medical and other allied health professions is threatened.4 It is a well-established fact that URMs completing medical or allied health education are more likely to practice in an underserved population.5 It is, therefore, imperative that URMs are recruited and achieve academic success in PA, medical, nursing, and other allied health schools. Academic success will be defined in this paper as successful completion of all academic requirements of a PA program, passing the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE), and timely graduation from an accredited PA program. Many URMs entering the medical and allied health professions experience more academic difficulty than their non-URM counterparts during their didactive training.6 There are many reasons for this, including inadequate academic preparation as evidenced by lower GRE, MCAT, SAT, and ACT scores and lower undergraduate GPAs. Perceived racial alienation (e.g., lack of faculty role models, tutorial support, financial support and commonalities), especially in major institutions, lack of URM faculty and mentors, perceived faculty alienation, and economic disadvantage have also been cited as barriers to academic performance.6 This article will examine obstacles to and predictors of academic success for URMs in PA school. The impetus for this paper was the perception by the author of an increased attrition rate and failure to pass the PANCE by URMs. A PA program national survey in 1986 reported a 65% dropout rate for URMs. This may suggest that this group