Ennulat Carol W, Garrubba Carl, DeLong Deborah
Chatham University, Woodland Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15232, USA.
J Physician Assist Educ. 2011;22(1):7-18. doi: 10.1097/01367895-201122010-00003.
A significant positive correlation between the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination (PANCE) and the PAEA Physician Assistant Clinical Knowledge Rating and Assessment Tool (PACKRAT) has been found in previous studies. This study's goal was to improve prediction of PANCE failure using other predictive measures, alone and in combination, with the PACKRAT.
Correlation and discriminate and regression analyses were conducted on 3 years of data (2007-2009) collected from Chatham University PA Studies graduates, with convergent results.
Significant positive correlations between the PANCE and each of the assessment measures were found (in order of significance): (1) the PACKRAT exam; (2) a summative multiple choice question exam given near the end of the clinical (second) year; (3) average multiple-choice-question-exam results from the didactic (first) year; (4) prerequisite preadmission GPA; and (5) overall preadmission GPA. Discriminant analyses revealed the combined solution of PACKRAT, SUMM, and MCQ to most accurately differentiate between the "pass" versus "fail" groups on the PANCE. Most importantly, regression analyses revealed the combined solution of SUMM and MCQ to most accurately predict PANCE performance at the low end of the scale.
This research suggests that all assessment measures tested can provide helpful estimates of PANCE performance; however the combined SUMM and MCQ solution provided the most reliable and accurate prediction of PANCE performance for "high risk" students. Other physician assistant programs could develop analyses of their internal testing assessments to identify students at risk of PANCE failure and allocate institutional and program resources to improve rates of PANCE passage.
先前的研究发现医师助理国家认证考试（PANCE）与医师助理教育协会医师助理临床知识评分与评估工具（PACKRAT）之间存在显著正相关。本研究的目的是利用其他预测指标单独或与PACKRAT结合使用，以改进对PANCE考试不及格情况的预测。
对查塔姆大学医师助理专业毕业生三年（2007 - 2009年）的数据进行相关性、判别和回归分析，结果具有一致性。
发现PANCE与各项评估指标之间存在显著正相关（按显著程度排序）：（1）PACKRAT考试；（2）临床（第二年）接近尾声时进行的总结性多项选择题考试；（3）理论学习（第一年）的多项选择题考试平均成绩；（4）入学前先修课程平均绩点；（5）入学前总体平均绩点。判别分析显示，PACKRAT、SUMM和MCQ的组合方案能最准确地区分PANCE考试中的“通过”组和“未通过”组。最重要的是，回归分析显示，SUMM和MCQ的组合方案能最准确地预测PANCE考试成绩较低端的表现。
本研究表明，所有测试的评估指标都能为PANCE考试表现提供有用的估计；然而，对于“高风险”学生，SUMM和MCQ的组合方案对PANCE考试表现提供了最可靠和准确的预测。其他医师助理项目可以对其内部测试评估进行分析，以识别有PANCE考试不及格风险的学生，并分配机构和项目资源来提高PANCE考试通过率。
