PA Students Research Articles

Emergency Medicine Resident Self-assessment of Clinical Teaching Compared to Student Evaluation Using a Previously Validated Rubric

PurposeThe quality of clinical teaching in the emergency department from the students' perspective has not been previously described in the literature. Our goals were to assess senior residents' teaching ability from the resident/teacher and student/learner viewpoints for any correlation, and to explore any gender association. The secondary goal was to evaluate the possible impact of gender on the resident/student dyad, an interaction that has previously been studied only in the faculty/student pairing. MethodsAfter approval by an institutional review board, a 1-year, grant-funded, single-site, prospective study was implemented at a regional medical campus that sponsors a 4-year dually approved emergency medicine residency. The residency hosts both medical school students (MSs) and physician's assistant students (PAs). Each student and senior resident working concurrently completed a previously validated ER Scale, which measured residents' teaching performance in 4 categories: Didactic, Clinical, Approachable, and Helpful. Students evaluated residents' teaching, while residents self-assessed their performance. The participants' demographic characteristics gathered included prior knowledge of or exposure to clinical teaching models. Gender was self-reported by participants. The analysis accounted for multiple observations by comparing participants' mean scores. FindingsNinety-nine subjects were enrolled; none withdrew consent. Thirty-seven residents (11 women) and 62 students (39 women) from 25 MSs and 6 PA schools were enrolled, completing 517 teaching assessments. Students evaluated residents more favorably in all ER Scale categories than did residents on self-assessments (P < 0.0001). This difference was significant in all subgroup comparisons (types of school versus postgraduate years [PGYs]). Residents' evaluations by type of student (MS vs PA) did not show a significant difference. PGY 3 residents assessed themselves higher in all categories than did PGY 4 residents, with Approachability reaching significance (P = 0.0105). Male residents self-assessed their teaching consistently higher than did female residents, significantly so on Clinical (P = 0.0300). Students' evaluations of the residents' teaching skills by residents' gender did not reveal gender differences. ImplicationsMS and PA students evaluated teaching by EM senior residents statistically significantly higher than did EM residents on self-evaluation when using the ER Scale. Students did not evaluate residents' teaching with any difference by gender, although male residents routinely self-assessed their teaching abilities more positively than did female residents. These findings suggest that, if residency programs utilize resident self-evaluation for programmatic evaluation, the gender of the resident may impact self-scoring. This cohort may inform future study of resident teaching in the emergency department, such as the design of future resident-as-teacher curricula.

Stories in measuring what matters.

Stories in measuring what matters.

Physician Assistant Student Perceptions of "Muddiest Point" Classroom Assessment Technique Implementation.

To assess student perceptions of the use of the "Muddiest Point" as a type of formative classroom assessment technique (CAT) in a clinical skills laboratory course. Physician assistant (PA) students enrolled in a private university were invited to complete a perception survey regarding the use of the Muddiest Point at the conclusion of the course. Survey results showed positive overall student perceptions of the Muddiest Point and desire for broader use of this CAT in other courses. The Muddiest Point is a CAT that is simple for the instructor to implement and showed overall perceived benefit to the PA student. The Muddiest Point is an effective method to gauge student learning and allows students to be active participants in their education.

Using Technology and Active Learning in a Lecture Based Anatomy Course: Does it Help?

Health professions programs' accreditation bodies require incorporating interactive teaching strategies throughout curricula, however it can be difficult to employ due to heavy course load schedules and space restrictions. Technology can assist in implementing interactive strategies by providing a means of content delivery to students before class time. This can allow for class time to be more interactive, however, the effectiveness of utilizing a combination of technologies before and during class time is unclear. The objective of this study was to determine if creating an active classroom experience utilizing technology before and during class time increases student's knowledge of and confidence in the presented content.50 1st year PA students watched a lecture that was given over the past three years in a short, content only video, created using “Expain Everything” the week before class. After watching the lecture, students filled out a short pre‐quiz on their understanding of the anatomy content. Using an iPad and Qualtrics, clinical cases were presented related to the anatomy content and students answered questions on the clinical applications in real time via Qualtrics. Students completed a post‐quiz at the end of the session. An anonymous survey was administered prior to the final exam to assess confidence in their understandin of the presented content. Quantitative data (pre‐quiz mean scores, post‐quiz mean scores, individual quiz question performance and performance on related exam questions) and qualitative data (survey confidence questions and session evaluation questions) were gathered.50 (100%) students completed the pre‐quiz, 47 (94%) students completed the post‐quiz, and 45 (90%) students completed the survey. There were no significant differences between pre‐quiz and post‐quiz scores (mean 82.1 and 80.1, respectively). Qualitative data showed that students felt the pre‐recorded lecture was a helpful resource and they enjoyed using both the pre‐recorded lecture and Qualtrics classroom case questions. However, students did not feel more confident in their understanding of the material.Based on these preliminary results, students did not perform better after the use of an active learning approach in a lecture based course. Further, while students may enjoy answering questions based on clinical correlations over listening to a live lecture, this teaching approach did not improve performance.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

Commentaries on health services research

Commentaries on health services research

The effect of longitudinal outreach activities on PA students' knowledge, skills, and attitudes of oral health

The effect of longitudinal outreach activities on PA students' knowledge, skills, and attitudes of oral health

Opioid screening and prevention education among PAs and PA students

Brittney Pohler is a student in the PA program at South College in Knoxville, Tenn. Michael Nowak is an assistant professor in the PA program at South College.

Financial stress among newly matriculated PA students

At the time this abstract was written, Kara Stencel was a student in the PA program at Yale University in New Haven, Conn. She now practices in the ED at MedStar Washington Hospital Center. Rosana Gonzalez-Colaso is an assistant professor in the Section of General Internal Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, at Yale School of Medicine.

Anticipated student debt among newly matriculated PA students in 2014

Anticipated student debt among newly matriculated PA students in 2014

One PA's experiences in the Netherlands, South Africa, and Australia.

As the PA profession develops internationally, few mechanisms let PAs move from country to country for clinical practice opportunities. The first author of this paper has worked in the civilian health sectors in two countries, the Netherlands and South Africa, and taught PA students in South Africa and Australia. He reports on PA development in each country and reflects on and compares his professional and clinical experiences.

Board Review Course as Intervention: Impact on PANCE Performance.

To analyze the effectiveness of an independent commercial 3-day Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination (PANCE)-Physician Assistant National Recertifying Examination (PANRE) board review course to improve first-time pass rates on the PANCE. Data were extracted from academic files at 2 universities over 2 years. In the first year (2014), the universities had not implemented a requirement for participation in a commercial board review course. In the second year (2015), both universities required participation in the course. There were 116 students at Idaho State University and 85 students at the University of Utah. Multiple regression analyses with PANCE score as the outcome variable were conducted with number of days to PANCE, number of practice tests, location of review course, Physician Assistant Clinical Knowledge Rating and Assessment Tool (PACKRAT) II performance, first-time PANCE pass rates, and first-time PANCE scores. After controlling for demographics, PACKRAT II scores, and students' home university, the study found that participation in the board certification course did not seem to affect student performance on the PANCE (R change = 0.000, p = .728). Post hoc analysis revealed a significant main effect for number of tests (F(3,94) = 3.35, p = .022, (Equation is included in full-text article.)= 0.097). Although not statistically significant, differences between on-site and off-site attendance may be of practical significance. There were no significant differences in PANCE performance of PA students who participated in a program-sponsored board review course and the performance of those who did not participate the previous year. We offer suggestions for future research to maximize the utility of a board review course.

Correlation of Brief COPE and Academic Performance in First Year PA and Dental Students During Human Structure Course

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between items of the Brief COPE and exam grades. This correlation data can be used to help identify students that may lack key strategies needed for academic performance.MethodsStudents were administered the Brief COPE survey after exams. Participation was voluntary. The survey was administered online for convenience and anonymity. Data analysis included two‐tailed t test of individual survey items and exam score. Correlations between Brief COPE items was also done.ResultsReports of high rates of self‐criticism had decreased exam scores. Reporting self‐criticism also has a correlation to disengagement and denial. Substance use as a coping strategy was correlated to disengagement.DiscussionStudents using poor coping and help strategies had reduced academic performance. Identification of these students can improve academic and social intervention and early identification of at risk students.Support or Funding InformationUniversity of Oklahoma Health Sciences CenterCollege of MedicineOklahoma City, OklahomaUniversity of Oklahoma NormanCollege of Education

Interprofessional Interactions and Competencies on Clinical Rotations: Preceptors' Perspectives of Student Experiences.

This study describes (1) preceptors' perceptions of interprofessional encounters that PA students had at clinical sites and (2) ways that the preceptors report evaluating the PA students' interprofessional practice skills. This study disseminated a single electronic survey of clinical preceptors who were affiliated with an accredited PA program. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the results. Of 195 preceptors, 66 completed the survey. Practice specialties of respondents and nonrespondents were similar. Preceptors indicated that PA students had frequent interactions with a wide variety of health professionals and students. These interactions occurred with greater frequency in specialty settings and academic medical centers than in other settings. Preceptors reported that they assess interprofessional practice competencies, although many were not familiar with the definitions that the health care profession has endorsed. Findings suggest that educators may identify specific clinical sites or settings that are more optimal for interprofessional education interventions and that focused preceptor development may encourage deliberate assessment of students' interprofessional practice competencies.

Burnout prevalence in PA students

Orozco, Jennifer M. MMS, PA-C, DFAAPA; Furman, Janet A. MMS, PA-C; Roman, Christopher MMS, PA-C; Guthrie, Jennifer MPAS, PA-C; Jackson, Christopher MPAS, PA-C Author Information

Comparison of video-streamed versus light microscopy in clinical microscopy instruction for PA students

Comparison of video-streamed versus light microscopy in clinical microscopy instruction for PA students

Does past leadership experience of PA students influence a validated leadership inventory score?

Does past leadership experience of PA students influence a validated leadership inventory score?

Effect of medical mission trips on PA students

Effect of medical mission trips on PA students

Commentaries on health services research

Commentaries on health services research

Increasing the knowledge, comfort, and skills of PA students in the management of patients with HIV and other sexually transmitted infections

Swatzell, Kelley E. DrPH; Caruthers, Kara L. MS, PA-C; Baddley, John W. MD, MSPH Author Information

Predictors of PA student success on the PANCE

Predictors of PA student success on the PANCE