Project-Based Learning for Physician Assistant Students: A Retrospective Assessment of the Masterʼs Paper Project at the Baylor College of Medicine Physician Assistant Program

Abstract

Background: The accreditation standards for physician assistant (PA) programs require that students be equipped to search, interpret, and apply the results of medical research to patient care, as well as maintain a critical, current, and operational knowledge of new medical findings. This mandate led to the incorporation of the master's paper project (MPP) into the curriculum of the Baylor College of Medicine PA Program. Methods: A retrospective characterization of the 425 MPP projects conducted between January 1990 and December 2007 was carried out. Results: The MPPs encompassed the basic science (6.1%), applied clinical (38.6%), and health services (55.3%) research arenas. Of the 212 faculty involved as mentors, 59 assisted with 198 (46.58%) of the research projects. The projects occurred most often in the areas of internal medicine (20.6%), family medicine (20.1%), pediatrics (18.8%), and surgery (10%). MPPs exploring aspects of PA practice doubled between 2000 and 2007. More than 90% of the MPPs were quantitative in design, involving both prospective (57.03%) and retrospective data collection, using surveys (35.3%) and chart reviews (37.0%). Of the 68 studies employing explanatory designs, cross-sectional studies were used most often, with longitudinal follow-up and educational interventions being the next most common. Most analyses used two to six different statistical tools with over half (57.83%) involving Student's t-test or chi-square, and others using correlations, regression analysis, factor analysis, odds ratios, and survival curves. Conclusions: The research requirement has matured in terms of mentors involved, areas investigated (specifically those exploring aspects of PA practice), and the statistics used for data analysis.