Diversity in Physician Assistant Education

Mulitalo, Karen; Straker, Howard

doi:10.1097/01367895-200718030-00006

Cited by 8 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…The Central Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA) show that underrepresented groups continue to matriculate at much lower rates [19,20]. If the PA profession were to continue to train new PAs at current diversity proportions, the current training and supply of future PAs will do very little to diversify the workforce and does not correspond to the growing demographic shift of the U.S. population [2,5,[21][22][23].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An assessment of physician assistant student diversity in the United States: a snapshot for the healthcare workforce

et al. 2022

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Background: The Physician Assistant (PA) workforce falls short of mirroring national demographics mainly due to a lack of diversity in student enrollment. Few studies have systematically examined diversity across PA programs at the national level, and little is known about best practices for consistently graduating a diverse group of students. We descriptively characterized the extent to which PA programs are graduating a diverse group of students and identified top performing PA programs.Methods: Data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) were used to calculate the number and proportion of racial or ethnically diverse graduates. The study sample included 139 accredited PA programs that had graduated a minimum of five cohorts from 2014-2018. Within each of the United States Census Divisions, programs were ranked according to the number and proportion of graduates who were underrepresented minority (URM) race, Hispanic ethnicity, and of non-white (URM race, Hispanic, and Asian).Results: Amongst PA programs in the United States, a large disparity in the number and proportion of racial and ethnic graduates was observed. Of 34,625 PA graduates, only 2,207 (6.4%) were Hispanic ethnicity and 1,220 (3.5%) were URM race. Furthermore, a large number of diverse graduates came from a small number of top performing programs. Conclusion:Despite the abundance of evidence for the need to diversify the healthcare workforce, PA programs have had difficulty recruiting and graduating a diverse group of students. This study provides empirical evidence that PA programs have not been able to attain the level of diversity necessary to shift the lack of diversity in the PA workforce. Based upon this study's findings, the top performing PA programs can be used as role models to establish benchmarks for other programs. The results of this descriptive study are currently being used to guide a qualitative study to identify the top performers' strategies for success.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An assessment of physician assistant student diversity in the United States: a snapshot for the healthcare workforce

et al. 2022

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“…30,31 Until the 1990s, a higher proportion of underrepresented minorities entered PA programs than entered other healthcare professions programs; however, this is no longer true. 32 During the 2016-2017 academic year, although nearly 25% of students admitted to PA schools had nonwhite backgrounds, just 3.1% were black; 9.2% were Hispanic or Latino; less than 1% were Hawaiian, Pacifi c Islander, Native American, or Alaska Native; and 3.1% identifi ed as being multiple races. 33 Additionally, as in previous years, the acceptance rate for minority applicants was lower than the acceptance rate for white applicants.…”

Section: Special Articlementioning

confidence: 99%

The need for greater diversity in the PA profession

Coplan

Fleming

2019

Jaapa

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Leading organizations committed to improving health and healthcare in the United States agree that a more diverse healthcare workforce is needed to combat widespread disparities affecting underrepresented minority and underserved populations. Until the 1990s, a higher proportion of underrepresented minorities entered PA programs than other healthcare professions programs, such as medical school. However, in recent years, the PA profession has struggled to increase diversity among its ranks. This article reviews the rationale for greater diversity in the PA workforce, discusses the obstacles that underrepresented minority students and PA educators face, and makes recommendations to address diversity. The PA profession's rapid growth presents an opportunity to expedite change through community outreach, sustained commitment to diversity, research, and policy change.

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“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] Cultural competency training in medical education has been emphasized since the early 2000s. [8][9][10][11][12][13] The phrase "cultural competence" has been defined as the ability of a medical provider to possess the cultural awareness, knowledge, and skills to effectively and respectfully obtain a thorough medical history that will enable the provider to accurately diagnose the medical problem and collaborate with the patient to develop a management plan.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the Theoretical Framework of Cultural Competency Training

Kelly

2011

The Journal of Physician Assistant Education

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Diversity in Physician Assistant Education

Cited by 8 publications

References 6 publications

An assessment of physician assistant student diversity in the United States: a snapshot for the healthcare workforce

An assessment of physician assistant student diversity in the United States: a snapshot for the healthcare workforce

The need for greater diversity in the PA profession

Exploring the Theoretical Framework of Cultural Competency Training

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