PA Program Goals and Outcomes

Program goals

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  Goal #1 – The PA Program will recruit and matriculate qualified applicants.

  Outcome measure

  The program aims to have an average undergraduate GPA >3.70, average GRE > 305 and an average patient care experience >1750 hours. These benchmarks are above our minimum required scores for each individual applicant and reflect the highly competitive nature of the admission process.

  Actual outcome

  Matriculated Student Data

  	Matriculation Year
  	2022	2023	2024
  Number of matriculating students	61	63	60
  Average Undergraduate GPA	3.75	3.78	3.74
  Average GRE	307.4	307.7	305.2
  Average patient care experience hours	2028	2206	2834

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  Goal #2: The PA program will support matriculated students throughout all phases of their PA education.

  Outcome measure

  The program aims to have a deceleration/attrition rate of less than 10%.  This would be below the threshold needed to develop a root cause analysis and report for ARC-PA.

  Outcome measure

  The program aims to have a graduation rate of >90%. UDM recognizes that there may be factors that interfere with even a qualified student’s ability to complete their education but commits to graduate nearly every student that we admit into our program. 

  Actual outcomes

  Student Attrition and Graduation Rates

  	Matriculation Year
  	2022	2023	2024
  Maximum entering class size (as approved by ARC-PA)	80	80	80
  Entering class size	68	67	63
  Graduates	58	65	59
  Attrition rate*	4.4%	9%	6.3%
  Graduation rate**	95.6%	91%	93.7%

  *Attrition rate calculation: number of students who attributed from cohort divided by the entering class size.
  **Graduation rate: number of cohort graduates divided by the entering class size.

  Outcome measure

  A subsection of the Annual Student Survey will be dedicated to assessing student perceptions regarding the availability and the quality of support services available during their PA education.  For the survey items regarding the adequacy of student support, the target goal will be 80% or more of the respondents score their responses as >4 on a Likert scale of 0-5.

  Actual outcome 

  Support of Matriculated Students Through all Phases of PA Education

  	Graduated class
  	All Students 2022	Class of 2023	Class of 2024
  Number of respondents	87% response rate N=109	100% response rate N=61	88% response rate N=52
  The University provides sufficient physical resources, such as laboratory facilities, office space, classrooms, study spaces and anatomy labs to meet the needs of the PA students	3.81	3.81	3.85
  The University provides sufficient technology for the classroom instruction, faculty needs and student requirements as it relates to accreditation.	4.22	4.00	4.18
  The University has a sufficient safety and security program in all campus locations and learning spaces.	4.44	4.44	4.35
  Institutional Support: Adequate classroom seating	4.07	4.00	3.98
  Institutional Support: Adequate classroom lighting	4.36	4.00	4.08
  Institutional Support: Appropriate equipment to support effective instruction	4.07	3.00	3.89
  IT/Computer Resources: Able to support the curriculum	4.18	4.25	4.06
  Library Support: Adequate Library resources	4.04	4.44	4.23
  There is adequate office staff support for the program	Not available	4.17	3.94
  There is adequate office staff to support the didactic phase of the program	Not available	4.15	3.94
  There is adequate office staff to support the clinical phase of the program	Not available	4.00	3.88
  There is adequate number of faculty for the students in the program	Not available	4.00	3.86
  Rate the effectiveness of the staff committed to the academic phase of the program in terms of performing their duties	Not available	4.00	3.86
  There is adequate instructional faculty and adjunct faculty to meet the needs of the students in the program	Not available	4.08	3.92
  Rate the effectiveness of the staff committed to the clinical phase of the program in terms of performing their duties	Not available	4.00	3.82

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  Goal #3 – The PA program will graduate highly qualified Physician Associates ready to enter the workforce.

  Outcome measure

  The PA Program aims for a first time PANCE rate > the national average.

  Actual outcome

  See the first time PANCE Pass Rates in the PANCE Performance Summary Report (PDF).

  Outcome measure

  The PA Program will meet all of their core competencies.

  Actual outcome

  Program Competencies Data

  	Average Score of Comprehensive Exams
  	Class of 2022 N=65	Class of 2023 N=61	Class of 2024 N=59
  Program Competency #1: Clinical and Technical Skills PA students will approach a patient of any group, in any setting, to elicit a detailed and accurate history, perform an appropriate physical examination, delineate problems and record and present the data.	OSCE 93% Radiology 89% EKG 90%	OSCE 91% Radiology 91% EKG 92%	OSCE 90% Radiology 88% EKG 91%
  Program Competency #2: Clinical Reasoning and Problem-solving Abilities  PA students will demonstrate the ability to utilize up-to-date scientific evidence to inform clinical reasoning and clinical judgment.	OSCE 93% Radiology 89% EKG 90% EOC 1504	OSCE 91% Radiology 91% EKG 92% EOC 1522	OSCE 90% Radiology 88% EKG 91% EOC 1489
  Program Competency #3: Medical Knowledge CPA candidates will apply core medical knowledge needed to care for patients.	Radiology 89% EKG 90% EOC 1504	Radiology 91% EKG 92% EOC 1522	Radiology 88% EKG 91% EOC 1489
  Program Competency #4: Interpersonal Skills PA candidates will demonstrate sensitivity to patient health needs and effectively communicate with patients, family members and the health care team to address the patient's health needs.	OSCE 93%	OSCE 91%	OSCE 90%
  Program Competency #5: Professional Behaviors PA candidates will demonstrate accountability to patients, society and the profession.	OSCE 93% Professionalism 99.5%	OSCE 91% Professionalism 99.5%	OSCE 90% Professionalism 99.5%

  Outcome measure

  A Graduate Survey will be sent to recent graduates, approximately six months after their graduation date.  A subset of questions on the Graduate Survey will address the respondent’s perceptions on their preparedness to enter the workforce and practice effectively as a PA.  For the survey items regarding preparedness, the target goal will be 80% or more of the respondents score their responses as >4 on a Likert scale of 0-5.

  Actual outcome

  Data pending.  Graduate Survey will be disseminated February 2025.

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  Goal #4 – The PA Program will strive to develop future leaders of the PA profession.

  Leadership and Scholarly Activities of PA Students

  	Number of Students Engaged in Leadership and Scholarship
  	Class of 2025 N=65	Class of 2026 N=58	Class of 2027 N=30*
  Journal publications and presentations	2	0	0
  Delegate roles in PA organizations (national, state, regional, local)	2	2	0
  Service to the University, College or program	22	22	3
  Total percent of cohort engaged in leadership and scholarly activities	40%	42%	10%

  *The class of 2027 only has students in the part-time PA program. Full-time students will matriculate into this cohort fall 2025

  Outcome measure

  The number of students who participate in research and leadership activities will be tracked.  These will include research publications, research presentations, delegate roles within MAPA or AAPA, and board membership of the William Beaumont Society, a University of Detroit Mercy PA student organization.  Our initial benchmark will be for 50% of all students to engage in leadership activities during their PA education.  This benchmark will be reassessed as we collect longitudinal data.

  Actual outcome

  Data collection will begin with cohort entering Fall 2024.