PA Outcomes

program outcomes

Mission 

The mission of the Physician Assistant Program at the University of Findlay is to provide our students with the medical knowledge, technical skills, and experience in a variety of didactic and clinical settings necessary for them to become ethical, competent, and compassionate healthcare providers as part of the healthcare team. This mission complements the University of Findlay’s mission, which is to equip our students for meaningful lives and productive careers. 

Goals

Below is a summary of the University of Findlay Physician Assistant program goals:

1. Prepare graduates to successfully pass the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination (PANCE).
2. Develop graduates who are prepared to enter clinical practice with the knowledge, skills, and professional competencies necessary to provide safe, effective, patient-centered care.
3. Graduates will demonstrate professionalism, effective communication and interprofessional collaboration.
4. Graduates will demonstrate engagement in service and advocacy that supports the PA profession and the health of their communities.

Goal #2

Preparation for Practice 

In annual surveys completed since 2010, graduates are asked to rate how well the University of Findlay PA program had prepared them in a number of areas involving clinical practice, including but not limited to:   

• Clinical problem solving 
• Screening for wellness 
• Assisting in surgical procedures 
• Ordering and interpreting common laboratory and diagnostic studies 
• Formulating a problem list from the medical history and physical assessment 

Over 85 percent (often higher) of the respondents either “agreed” or “strongly agreed” with the statement that the PA program had prepared them well for the items on the list. This, coupled with all graduates passing the PANCE on their first attempt over the past 14 years except for eight, suggests that the program is successfully meeting the needs of the vast majority of its graduates. 

The program assesses graduates’ preparation for clinical practice through performance-based OSCE assessment that assesses clinical knowledge, clinical skills, clinical reasoning, communication, and professional competencies. The established passing standard for the OSCE is 73%.  To provide evidence of preparation for entry into clinical practice beyond minimum competence, the program established a benchmark of a cohort mean score of at least 83%, which is 10 percentage points above the established passing standard. From 2023 through 2025, OSCE averages ranged from 87-89%, exceeding the benchmark each year.  These results demonstrate consistent student achievement of the clinical competencies assessed through the OSCE and provide evidence that graduates are developing the knowledge, clinical skills, and professional competencies necessary for clinical practice.

End of Curriculum (EOC) performance is used to assess students’ acquisition and application of medical knowledge and clinical reasoning necessary for entry into clinical practice. The program benchmark is an EOC average within one standard deviation of the national average.  The program met the benchmark in each of the three years evaluated.  These results demonstrate consistent achievement of the established benchmark, with program performance improving over the three-year period.  The results provide evidence that students are developing the medical knowledge and clinical reasoning skills necessary for entry into clinical practice.

Goal #4

Engagement in Service and Advocacy

Each cohort participates in service-learning and volunteer activities throughout the curriculum, with substantial documented service-learning hours completed annually. 

In addition to the service-learning hours reported above, each cohort completes a required four-hour group service-learning project during each of three semesters.  This provides each student with an additional 12 hours of structured, collaborative service-learning experiences.  These longitudinal experiences provide students with repeated opportunities to identify community needs, participate in service activities, collaborate with others, and apply their developing professional knowledge and skills to benefit the communities they serve.

One hundred percent of students maintain membership in both the Ohio Academy of PAs (OAPA) and the American Academy of PAs (AAPA), providing students with opportunities to engage with the PA profession and participate in professional advocacy. 

The combination of substantial service-learning participation, required longitudinal group projects, and 100% student membership in state and national PA professional organizations demonstrates that service and advocacy are intentionally incorporated into the education experience.  Therefore, the program considers this goal to be met.

program outcomes

Graduation and Attrition Rates 

*Attrition rate calculation: 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. 

View the table in its original format here 

program outcomes

Employment as a physician assistant 

Of the 317 graduates since 2000, 95% are currently certified through NCCPA. There are a few reasons why five percent of the graduates are not currently certified, including, but not limited to, retirement, life changes, unsuccessful certification maintenance, or failure to gain initial certification.  

program outcomes

Ohio Association of Physicians Assistants 

100 percent of the University of Findlay’s PA students are currently members of the Ohio Association of Physicians Assistants, putting our University at Platinum status of the OAPA’s student membership incentive program.