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Goals

Physician Assistant Studies aims to recruit non-traditional students with special attention to North Carolina residents and veterans, provide inter-professional learning experiences as a cornerstone for future practice, create an educational environment that fosters inter-professionalism as a cornerstone of learning and practice, educate lifelong medical learners in a generalist curriculum which promotes practice in rural and urban medically underserved populations of North Carolina and beyond, and graduate medical learners who possess the knowledge and skills required to practice as physician assistants in a wide range of clinical practice settings.

Click to view Measures and Outcomes1. Recruit non-traditional students1 with special attention to veterans2 and North Carolina residents
Measures of Success Benchmark Outcomes
Recruitment events for non-traditional and veteran applicants Minimum of 2 events annually with a focus for nontraditional and military/veteran applicants 2023: Two PAEA admissions fairs and one programmatic admissions informational session.
Applicants who are nontraditional or military/veteran 25% of all applicants
  • 2021: 31% of all applicants
  • 2022: 27% of all applicants
  • 2023: 25% of all applicants
  • 2024: 23% of all applicants
  • 2025: 25% of all applicants
2. Prepare students to work collaboratively in interprofessional teams.
Measures of Success Benchmark Outcomes
Engagement of students with optional interprofessional experiences. >50% attendance or participation
  • 2023: 100% attendance to optional interprofessional lunch and learn sessions.
  • 2023: 80% of preclinical cohort volunteered at interprofessional SHAC clinic.
Graduate survey ≥3.5 on Likert scale Graduates in the class of 2022 strongly agreed (4.4/5 with 71% response rate) they were well-prepared to practice in interprofessional patient-centered teams.
3. Graduate medical learners who possess the knowledge and skills required to practice as physician assistants
Measures of Success Benchmark Outcomes
5-year first-time test taker PANCE performance At national average First-time test-taker PANCE pass rate is 100% with the classes of 2021, 2022 and 2023 with the national average at 93%, 92% and 92%, respectively.
All-time PANCE performance At national average
  • 100% all-time PANCE pass rate from 2021-2023
  • National all-time PANCE pass rate of 91%, 89% and 89% for 2021-2023
Graduate and alumni surveys Likert scale ≥3.5 Graduates in the class of 2023 agreed (4.3/5 with 71% response rate) the program provided them with a strong foundation for generalist practice.
4. Prepare students for practice in medically underresourced communities
Measures of Success Benchmark Outcomes
Clinical experience opportunities Develop and maintain at least 2 clinical experience oppportunities in medically underresourced communities.
  • Offering 16 rotations in medically underresourced communities for academic year 2024.
  • Developing 9 additional sites for academic year 2025
  • Continued PA student volunteer presence at SHAC clinic.
Graduate survey ≥3.5 Likert scale Graduates in the class of 2023 neither agree nor disagree (3.2/5 with 71% response rate) the program prepared them for rural practice settings.

  • This is below the program’s benchmark of 3.5. The program is currently reviewing its didactic and clinical phase curricula for incorporation of preparation of learners in underresourced communities.

1 UNC-CH classifies non-traditional status to applicants who are >26 years of age.
2 UNC specifically recruits veterans who served in a medical capacity.
3 Likert Scale 1 – Strongly Disagree to 5 – Strongly Agree

4 Underresourced communities defined by a NC Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) score ≥14, patients served by any county health department and/or any Federally Qualified Health Center.

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