Mayo Clinic Gonda Vascular Center, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
Division of General Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St. SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA.
BMC Med Educ. 2018 Jun 4;18(1):123. doi: 10.1186/s12909-018-1242-y.
We conducted a prospective validation study to develop a physician assistant (PA) clinical rotation evaluation (PACRE) instrument. The specific aims of this study were to 1) develop a tool to evaluate PA clinical rotations, and 2) explore associations between validated rotation evaluation scores and characteristics of the students and rotations.
The PACRE was administered to rotating PA students at our institution in 2016. Factor analysis, internal consistency reliability, and associations between PACRE scores and student or rotation characteristics were determined.
Of 206 PACRE instruments sent, 124 were returned (60.2% response). Factor analysis supported a unidimensional model with a mean (SD) score of 4.31 (0.57) on a 5-point scale. Internal consistency reliability was excellent (Cronbach α=0.95). PACRE scores were associated with students' gender (P = .01) and rotation specialty (P = .006) and correlated with students' perception of being prepared (r = 0.32; P < .001) and value of the rotation (r = 0.57; P < .001).
This is the first validated instrument to evaluate PA rotation experiences. Application of the PACRE questionnaire could inform rotation directors about ways to improve clinical experiences. The findings of this study suggest that PA students must be adequately prepared to have a successful experience on their rotations. PA programs should consider offering transition courses like those offered in many medical schools to prepare their students for clinical experiences. Future research should explore whether additional rotation characteristics and educational outcomes are associated with PACRE scores.
我们进行了一项前瞻性验证研究，以开发一种医师助理 (PA) 临床轮转评估 (PACRE) 工具。本研究的具体目的是：1）开发一种评估 PA 临床轮转的工具，2）探索经过验证的轮转评估分数与学生和轮转特征之间的关联。
在我们的机构，2016 年对轮转的 PA 学生进行了 PACRE 评估。进行了因子分析、内部一致性可靠性分析，并确定了 PACRE 评分与学生或轮转特征之间的关联。
共发出 206 份 PACRE 量表，收回 124 份（回应率为 60.2%）。因子分析支持具有 5 点量表均分为 4.31（0.57）的单维模型。内部一致性可靠性极佳（Cronbach α=0.95）。PACRE 评分与学生的性别（P=0.01）和轮转专业（P=0.006）有关，与学生对准备情况的感知（r=0.32；P<0.001）和轮转价值（r=0.57；P<0.001）呈正相关。
这是第一个评估 PA 轮转经验的经过验证的工具。应用 PACRE 问卷可以让轮转主任了解改进临床经验的方法。这项研究的结果表明，PA 学生必须充分准备才能在轮转中取得成功。PA 项目应该考虑提供像许多医学院提供的过渡课程，以帮助学生为临床经验做好准备。未来的研究应探讨其他轮转特征和教育结果是否与 PACRE 评分相关。
