National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants, Johns Creek, 12000 Findley Road, Johns Creek, GA, 30097, USA.
BMC Med Educ. 2024 Sep 30;24(1):1071. doi: 10.1186/s12909-024-05975-1.
COVID-19 significantly impacted physician assistant/associate (PA) education programs. Most programs transitioned didactic and clinical education from in-person to remote, and clinical training opportunities diminished. Graduates of accredited PA programs take the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination (PANCE), a five-hour exam with 300 multiple-choice questions, and must attain or exceed the scaled passing score of 350 (range: 200-800). We examined first-time examinees' trends in PANCE scores and passing rates three years prior to the pandemic and three years during.
We analyzed data (N = 59,459) from the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants. The two primary outcomes were PANCE scores and pass rates. The main exposure was the timeframe: three years pre-pandemic (2017-2019) and three years during the pandemic (2020-2022). The 2017-2018 scores were equated to the new passing standard implemented in 2019. Covariates included age, gender, years the PA program has been accredited, program region, and rural-urban setting. Analyses consisted of descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate statistics.
The mean PANCE score and pass rate during the six-year study period were 463 and 93%, respectively. In unadjusted analyses comparing each year individually, mean PANCE score was highest in 2020 and lowest in 2022 than in all other years except for 2017. When comparing each pandemic year to the pooled three pre-pandemic years and adjusting for test-taker and PA program covariates, examinees scored significantly higher in 2020; there was no difference in 2021, and they scored lower in 2022. When controlling for covariates, examinees had 1.24 higher odds of failing in 2022 compared to the pooled pre-pandemic period.
Findings suggest that PANCE scores and pass rates were impacted during the third year of the pandemic. PANCE assesses if examinees have the essential clinical knowledge to enter the PA profession. It is crucial to determine whether the pandemic affected PANCE scores and pass rates to ensure PAs provide safe and high-quality patient care.
COVID-19 对医师助理/医师助理（PA）教育计划产生了重大影响。大多数计划将理论和临床教育从面对面教学转变为远程教学，并且临床培训机会减少。经认可的 PA 计划的毕业生参加医师助理国家认证考试（PANCE），这是一项五个小时的考试，有 300 个多项选择题，必须达到或超过 350 的标准分数（范围：200-800）。我们研究了大流行前三年和大流行期间第一年考生的 PANCE 分数和通过率趋势。
我们分析了国家医师助理认证委员会的数据（N=59459）。两个主要结果是 PANCE 分数和通过率。主要暴露因素是时间范围：大流行前三年（2017-2019 年）和大流行期间三年（2020-2022 年）。2017-2018 年的分数与 2019 年实施的新通过标准相当。协变量包括年龄、性别、PA 计划获得认证的年限、计划区域和城乡环境。分析包括描述性、双变量和多变量统计。
在六年的研究期间，平均 PANCE 分数和通过率分别为 463 和 93%。在单独比较每年的未调整分析中，2020 年的平均 PANCE 分数最高，2022 年最低，除 2017 年外，均低于其他年份。在将每个大流行年份与汇总的三个大流行前年份进行比较并调整测试者和 PA 计划协变量时，2020 年考生的得分明显更高；2021 年没有差异，2022 年得分较低。控制协变量后，与汇总大流行前时期相比，2022 年考生不及格的可能性高 1.24 倍。
研究结果表明，在大流行的第三年，PANCE 分数和通过率受到了影响。PANCE 评估考生是否具备进入 PA 职业的必要临床知识。确定大流行是否影响 PANCE 分数和通过率对于确保 PA 提供安全和高质量的患者护理至关重要。
