Predictors of applicant pool diversity among physician assistant education programs: A national cross-sectional cohort study

Author:

Honda Trenton J.1,Sturges Daytheon2,Mills Daphe C.3,Yuen Cynthia X.4,Chitwood Ryan W.5,Rodríguez José E.6

Affiliation:

1. Northeastern University

2. University of Washington School of Medicine

3. Physician Assistant Education Association

4. National Education Association

5. Synovus

6. University of Utah Health, University of Utah School of Medicine

Abstract

Abstract Background Numerous studies have demonstrated that the increasingly diverse US population benefits from access to diverse healthcare providers from similarly diverse backgrounds. Physician assistant (PA) education programs have striven to increase the diversity of the profession, which is predominantly non-Hispanic white, by focusing on admitting historically underrepresented students. However, strategies such as holistic admissions are predicated on the existence of diverse applicant pools. While studies have examined correlates of matriculation into a medical education program, this study looks earlier in the pipeline and investigates whether applicant – not matriculant – pool diversity varies among PA programs with different characteristics. Methods Data were drawn from the 2017-2018 Central Application Service for PAs admissions cycle. Applications to programs with pre-professional tracks and applicants missing race/ethnicity data were excluded, resulting in data from 26,600 individuals who applied to 189 PA programs. We summarized the racial and ethnic diversity of each program’s applicant pools using: (1)the proportion of underrepresented minority (URM) students, (2)the proportion of students with backgrounds underrepresented in medicine (URiM), and (3)Simpson’s diversity index of a 7-category race/ethnicity combination. We used multiple regressions to model each diversity metric as a function of program characteristics including class size, accreditation status, type of institution, and other important features. Results Regardless of the diversity metric examined, we found that applicant diversity was higher among provisionally accredited programs and those receiving more applications. We also identified trends suggesting that programs in more metropolitan areas were able to attract more diverse applicants. Programs that did not require the GRE were also able to attract more diverse applicants when considering the URM and SDI metrics, though results for URiM were not statistically significant. Conclusions Our findings provide insights into modifiable (e.g., GRE requirement) and non-modifiable (e.g., provisionally accredited) program characteristics that are associated with a diverse applicant pool.

Publisher

Research Square Platform LLC

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3