School of Health Professions
About the PA Program
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Program Mission
The mission of t¶¶Ňőapp (USM) Physician Assistant (PA) program is to educate and mentor students to provide evidence-based, collaborative, patient-centered medical care. With an emphasis on rural and medically underserved areas, our graduates will be prepared to provide compassionate medical care to all people and populations.
Program Vision
The USM PA program’s evidence-based curriculum will promote the development of ethical, clinically knowledgeable practitioners prepared to serve the diverse populations in Mississippi and throughout the country. Our graduates will be prepared to function in primary care and specialty care in both rural and urban settings and will promote and participate in transformation of the healthcare system to a model that provides compassionate and culturally responsive care for all.
Program Goals
Outcome measure 1: Applicant and matriculated student data
Benchmarks:
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- average cohort undergraduate GPA >3.30
- average cohort >500 Direct Patient Care (DPC) hours
Outcome measure 2: Program attrition / graduation rates
Benchmark: <6% student attrition; >94% graduation rate
Outcome measure 1: summative testing performance
Benchmarks:
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- PAEA EOC exam – cohort average at or above the national mean
- NCCPA PANCE exam – cohort average at or above the national mean
Outcome measure 2: student perceptions (Student Graduate Exit survey)
Benchmarks:
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- >3.5 (5-point Likert scale) cohort average indicating students perceive their education prepared them for clinical practice
- >3.5 (5-point Likert scale) cohort average indicating students perceive their education prepared them to provide evidence-based medical care
Outcome measure 3: preceptor perceptions (Preceptor Evaluation of Student Performance)
Benchmarks:
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- >3.5 (5-point Likert scale) cohort average indicating preceptors perceive the students’ education prepares them for clinical practice
- >3.5 (5-point Likert scale) cohort average indicating preceptors perceive the students’ education prepares them to provide evidence-based medical care
Outcome measure 4: faculty perceptions (Annual Faculty Evaluation of the Institution, Program, and Curriculum)
Benchmarks:
-
- >3.5 (5-point Likert scale) average indicating faculty perceive the students’ education prepares them for clinical practice
- >3.5 (5-point Likert scale) average indicating faculty perceive the students’ education prepares them to provide evidence-based medical care
Outcome measure 1: student perceptions (Student Graduate Exit survey)
Benchmarks:
-
- >3.5 (5-point Likert) - cohort average indicating students perceive their education prepared them to provide compassionate care
- >3.5 (5-point Likert) - cohort average indicating students perceive their education prepared them to provide collaborative care
- >3.5 (5-point Likert) - cohort average indicating students perceive their education prepared them to function as part of an interprofessional team
Outcome measure 2: preceptor perceptions (Preceptor Evaluation of Student Performance)
Benchmarks:
-
- >3.5 (5-point Likert) cohort average indicating preceptors perceive the students’ education prepares them to provide compassionate care
- >3.5 (5-point Likert) cohort average indicating preceptors perceive the students’ education prepares them to provide collaborative care
- >3.5 (5-point Likert) cohort average indicating preceptors perceive the students’ education prepares them to function as part of an interprofessional team
Outcome measure 3: faculty perceptions (Annual Faculty Evaluation of the Institution, Program, and Curriculum)
Benchmarks:
-
- >3.5 (5-point Likert) - average indicating faculty perceive the students’ education prepares them to provide compassionate care
- >3.5 (5-point Likert) - average indicating faculty perceive the students’ education prepares them to provide collaborative care
- >3.5 (5-point Likert) - average indicating faculty perceive the students’ education prepares them to function as part of an interprofessional team
Outcome measure 1: student perceptions (Student Graduate Exit survey)
Benchmarks:
-
- >3.5 (5-point Likert) - cohort average indicating students perceive the learning environment prepared them to provide culturally competent care
- >3.5 (5-point Likert) - cohort average indicating students perceive the learning environment prepared them to serve the needs of various populations
Outcome measure 2: preceptor perceptions (Preceptor Evaluation of Student Performance)
Benchmarks:
-
- >3.5 (5-point Likert) - cohort average indicating preceptors perceive the students’ education (learning environment) prepares students to provide culturally competent care
- >3.5 (5-point Likert) - cohort average indicating preceptors perceive the students’ education (learning environment) prepares students to serve the needs of various populations
Outcome measure 3: faculty perceptions (Annual Faculty Evaluation of the Institution, Program, and Curriculum)
Benchmarks:
-
- >3.5 (5-point Likert) - average indicating faculty perceive the learning environment prepares students to provide culturally competent care
- >3.5 (5-point Likert) - average indicating faculty perceive the learning environment prepares students to serve the needs of various populations
Outcome measure 4: number of rural and/or medically underserved clinical experiences (SCPEs)
Benchmark: All students have >25% clinical placements in rural or medically underserved communities
The effectiveness of the USM PA program in meeting its goals will be published after graduation of the inaugural class in 2029.
The USM Physician Assistant program will publish the annual NCCPA PANCE Exam Performance Summary Report Last 5 Years provided by the NCCPA after the first cohort graduates in 2029 and all graduates complete their certification examinations, but no later than April 1, 2030.
The USM Physician Assistant program will publish its attrition and graduation information after the first cohort graduates in 2029.