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Program Goals & Results
Admissions
Matriculate a diverse student body with a commitment to professional involvement and service to all members of the community.
OVERALL COHORTS OF WSU PA STUDENTS SELF-REPORT IN THEIR CASPA APPLICATION AN AVERAGE OF 46% DIVERSITY, INCLUDING HRSA INDICATORS. THEY HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THEIR COMMUNITIES WITH A COMBINED 692,756 PATIENT CARE HOURS.
| Measure | Cohort 2021 | Cohort 2022 | Cohort 2023 | Cohort 2024 | Cohort 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CASPA Diversity % | 27% | 63% | 47% | 60% | 53% |
| Average Amount of Direct Patient Care Hours | 3,469 | 4,234 | 4,377 | 2,682 | 2,905 |
Academics
Provide Physician Assistant students with superior knowledge and skills for the evaluation, monitoring, diagnosis, treatment, and counseling of patients across their lifespan.
THE CURRENT PA COHORTS WERE RECRUITED WITH AN AVERAGE GPA OF 3.54 FOR CLASS OF 2019 AND 3.57 FOR CLASS OF 2020. THE EVALUATION FROM PRECEPTORS IS VERY POSITIVE, ON A LIKERT SCALE OF 1 TO 5 (5 BEING THE HIGHEST).
| Measure | Cohort 2019 | Cohort 2020 | Cohort 2021 | Cohort 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preceptor Evaluation of Student (Patient Evaluation) | 4.3 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 4.3 |
| Graduate Exit Survey (Patient Evaluation) | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 3.5 |
| Measure | Cohort 2019 | Cohort 2020 | Cohort 2021 | Cohort 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preceptor Evaluation of Student (Patient Diagnosis) | 4.1 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 4.3 |
| Graduate Exit Survey (Patient Diagnosis) | 4.1 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 4 |
| Measure | Cohort 2019 | Cohort 2020 | Cohort 2021 | Cohort 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preceptor Evaluation of Student (Patient Treatment) | 4.2 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 4.5 |
| Graduate Exit Survey (Patient Treatment) | 4.2 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.7 |
| Measure | Cohort 2019 | Cohort 2020 | Cohort 2021 | Cohort 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preceptor Evaluation of Student (Patient Education) | 4.2 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 4.3 |
| Graduate Exit Survey (Patient Education) | 4.2 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
Interprofessional Education
Educate the Physician Assistant student to function effectively within a health care team.
THE WESTFIELD PA STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN INTERPROFESSIONAL GRAND ROUNDS AND SIMULATIONS THROUGHOUT THE CURRICULUM. CURRENTLY, THE PA PROGRAM IS PARTICIPATING IN A HRSA IPE GRANT WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL WORK AND NURSING REGARDING PATIENT CARE IN SUBSTANCE ABUSE DISORDERS.
| Measure | Cohort 2019 | Cohort 2020 | Cohort 2021 | Cohort 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graduate Exit Survey (Interprofessional Team Care) | - | 4.1 | 4.2 | 4.5 |
| Faculty Eval of Curriculum (Interprofessional Team Care) | 4.0 | 4.4 | 4.4 | - |
Service
Encourage all students and graduates to engage in the overall well-being of the community.
THE STUDENTS PERFORM SERVICE IN THE COMMUNITY TO REINFORCE THEIR NEW SKILLS AND LEARNING. THIS YEAR, STUDENTS PARTICIPATED IN BP350, TAKING BLOOD PRESSURES THROUGHOUT WESTFIELD TO CELEBRATE THE 350TH BIRTHDAY OF THE CITY.
| Measure | Cohort 2019 | Cohort 2020 | Cohort 2021 | Cohort 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Student Community Service Hours in the Program | 50 | 50 | 120 | 200 |
PANCE
Achieve a 100% first-time pass rate on the NCCPA PANCE examination
THE WSU PA PROGRAM ASPIRES TO ACHIEVE A 100% FIRST-TIME PASS RATE ON THE NCCPA PANCE EXAM.
| Criteria | Cohort 2019 | Nat'l Ave 2019 | Cohort 2020 | Nat'l Ave 2020 | Cohort 2021 | Nat'l Ave 2021 | Cohort 2022 | Nat'l Ave 2022 |
Cohort 2023 |
Nat'l Avg 2023 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PANCE Performance 1st-time test takers | 91% | 93% | 90% | 95% | 93% | 93% | 96% | 92% | 87% | 92% | ||
| PANCE Performance all test takers | 92% | 91% | 91% | 93% | 94% | 91% | 93% | 89% | 88% | 89% | ||
| Overall PANCE Pass Rate | 100% | - | 100% | - | 100% | - | 100% | - | 97% | - |
ENROLLMENT DATA & ARC-PA ATTRITION TABLE
| Graduated Class | Graduated Class | Graduated Class | |
| Class of 2021 | Class of 2022 | Class of 2023 | |
| Maximum entering class size (as approved by ARC-PA) | 30 | 30 | 30 |
| Number joining class cohort who began with different cohort (most recent graduating class): | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Total attrition: | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| Graduates | 30 | 27 | 30 |
| *Attrition rate | 3% | 10% | 6.25% |
| **Graduation rate | 97% | 90% | 93.75% |
*Attrition rate calculations: Number of students who attritted from cohort divided by the entering class size.
**Graduation rate: Number of cohort graduates divided by the entering class size.
Comments: Updated 8/15/2024
Employment
Accomplish a pathway for a rewarding career through an affordable public PA program offering. Graduates will serve the medically underserved communities of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and beyond.
| Measure | Cohort 2019 | Cohort 2020 | Cohort 2021 | Cohort 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graduates serving in medically underserved communities | 15 | 15 |
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Physician Assistant Studies
577 Western Avenue, Westfield, MA