The purpose of this study was to - Physician Assistant Education

Relationship between First Time PANCE Scores, Timing of PANCE, and Cumulative PA Program GPA
Diana Smith, MHS, PA-C and Charles Stream, MPH, PA-C
Table 1
Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate
the relationship between Physician Assistant program
graduates’ first time passing PANCE scores (fPANCE), cumulative GPA, and student selected
timing of PANCE exam. Methods: Four hundred and
twenty three students from this Physician Assistant
Program’s graduating classes of 2006, 2007, 2008,
2009, 2010 and 2011 were included. Individual fPANCE scores, cumulative GPA’s, and the number of
weeks the PANCE was taken after graduation were
compared. Descriptive and inferential statistics were
performed using the SPSS 19 statistical package.
Results: The mean f-PANCE score for this cohort was
552.6 + 124.1. Mean GPA was 3.51 + 0.27 and the
mean number of weeks the f- PANCE was taken after
graduation was 7.1 + 5.5. The number of weeks after
graduation the PANCE was taken was significantly
correlated to f-PANCE scores and GPA’s r = - 0.394
(p = 0.00), r = - 0.396 (p = 0.00) respectively. GPA’s
alone were also significantly correlated with fPANCE scores r = 0.691 (p = 0.00). Discussion: GPA
as a predictor of how a student performs on national
certifying examinations has been examined by a
variety of health education programs. Most of the
studies have found that GPA is one of many
predictive variables for examination performance, but
should not be utilized as the sole predictor of
performance. 1-3 This study supports that finding as
well. One variable that has not been examined closely
is the timing of the certification examination and
performance on the exam. Perhaps this is because for
many graduates of different professional training
programs, the timing of the certification examination
is not a choice. However, Physician Assistant
program graduates self-select when they will take
their certification exam. This study found that
students with lower GPAs delayed longer before
taking PANCE and with poorer results. Student
rationale for PANCE timing selection should be the
focus of future research.
Descriptive Statistics
Discussion
Research Question
Do students who are poor academic performers delay
taking the PANCE after program completion?
N
Final GPA
Minimum Maximum
423
2.00
4.00
Mean
3.5159
Std. Deviation
.27532
PANCE Score
423
200.00
836.00
552.6336
124.13599
Week After Graduation
423
1
39
7.13
5.508
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the
relationship between recent Drexel University
Hahnemann Physician Assistant Program graduates
first time passing PANCE scores (f-PANCE),
cumulative grade point average (GPA), and student
selected timing of PANCE exam. Did students with
lower overall program GPAs delay taking f-PANCE?
Table 2
Correlations
Week After
Graduation
Week After Graduation Pearson Correlation
PANCE Score Final GPA
-.396**
1
-.394**
Sig. (2-tailed)
N
PANCE Score
Methods
Four hundred and twenty three students from the
Drexel University Hahnemann Physician Assistant
Program’s graduating classes of 2006, 2007, 2008,
2009, 2010 and 2011 were included. Individual fPANCE scores, cumulative GPA’s, and the number of
weeks the PANCE was taken after graduation were
compared. Descriptive and inferential statistics were
performed using the SPSS 19 statistical package.
GPA as a predictor of how a student performs on national certifying
examinations has been examined by a variety of health education programs.
Most of the studies have found that GPA is one of many predictive variables
for examination performance, but should not be utilized as the sole predictor
of performance. 1-3 This study supports that finding as well. Table 2
demonstrates the positive correlation between Cummulative GPA and fPANCE scores: Graduates with higher GPAs achieved higher scores on fPANCE. Figure 1 visually illustrates this direct correlation between GPA and
f-PANCE scores. To note: In Figure 1 that there is a peak in both GPA and
PANCE score at 32 weeks after graduation. This student postponed taking the
PANCE secondary to family responsibilities.
Final GPA
Pearson Correlation
.000
423
423
423
-.394**
1
.691**
Sig. (2-tailed)
.000
N
423
423
423
-.396**
.691**
1
.000
.000
423
423
Pearson Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed)
N
**Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
Figure 1
.000
.000
423
One variable that has not been examined closely is the timing of the
certification examination and performance on the exam. Perhaps this is
because for many graduates of different professional training programs, the
timing of the certification examination is not a choice, but rather is
administered only on specific dates during the year. However, Physician
Assistant program graduates self-select when they will take their certification
exam. This study found that students with lower GPAs delayed longer before
taking PANCE and with poorer results. Again, Table 2 demonstrates the
significant negative correlation between these two variables. The students
with higher GPAs tended to take the PANCE earlier after graduating and those
with lower GPAs delayed taking the PANCE. Figure 1 clearly conveys this
trend. Student rationale for PANCE timing selection should be the focus of
future research.
References
Results
The mean f-PANCE score for this cohort was 552.6
+ 124.1. Mean GPA was 3.51 + 0.27 and the mean
number of weeks the f- PANCE was taken after
graduation was 7.1 + 5.5. The number of weeks
after graduation the PANCE was taken was
significantly correlated to f-PANCE scores and
GPA’s r = - 0.394 (p = 0.00), r = - 0.396 (p = 0.00)
respectively. GPA’s alone were also significantly
correlated with f-PANCE scores r = 0.691 (p =
0.00).
1. Oakes DL, MacLaren LM, Gorie CT, Finstuen K.
Predicting success on the physician assistant national
certifying examination. Perspective on Physician Assistant
Education. 1999;10(2):63-69.
http://www.paeaonline.org/index.php?ht=a/GetDocumentAction/i/25507
Accessed April 1, 2012.
2. Beeman PB, Waterhouse JK. NCLEX-RN performance: predicting success
on the computerized examination. Journal of Professional Nursing.
2001;17(4):158-165.
3. Middlemas DA, Manning JM, Gazillo LM, Young J. Predicting performance
on the national athletic trainers association board of certification examination
from grade point average and clinical hours. Journal of Athletic Training.
2001;36(2):136-140.