Program Goals
The Augsburg PA Program aims to accomplish the following goals:
GOAL #1: To increase the number of students from underrepresented groups in medicine (URiM)* into the PA profession.
STATUS (9/2023): Augsburg PA is exceeding this goal! Over the past 3 years, 29.3% of Augsburg PA matriculants self-identify as URiM and 44.4% self-identify as Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC).
Benchmarks: ≥25% of matriculated PA students are from URiM groups.
*The AAMC definition of underrepresented in medicine means those racial and ethnic populations that are underrepresented in the medical profession relative to their numbers in the general population.
Metric: Admissions data, PAEA Data
GOAL #2: To maintain a competitive first-time PANCE pass rate.
STATUS (10/2023): Augsburg PA is not meeting this goal. For the most recently published data from 2023, Augsburg PA’s annual first-time PANCE pass rate is less than the 92% National Average.
We have recognized a downward trend across the country and within our graduates in PANCE performance and are proactively addressing this concern in our didactic, clinical, and PANCE preparation curriculum. We are also actively working with those 2023 graduates who were unsuccessful on their first attempt to pass on their second attempt, as we wholeheartedly believe in their preparation and ability to be highly competent PAs.
Benchmark: PA Program annual first-time PANCE pass rate is above the national average.
Metric: NCCPA Program and National Data
GOAL #3: To model PA professional responsibility through civic, leadership, and/or community engagement*.
STATUS (9/2023): Augsburg PA is meeting this goal! 100% of our students in the 2023, 2024, and 2025 graduating cohorts and 100% of our faculty have participated in at least one civic, leadership, or community engagement activity sponsored by the program.
Benchmarks: 100% of matriculated PA students and PA faculty participate in at least one civic, leadership, or community engagement activity while enrolled in the program.
*Examples include Augsburg Health Commons, MN Academy of PAs, Special Olympics Health Screening, Face-2-Face, Feed My Starving Children, Project Access, Anishinabe Wakaigun, and Women of Nations Shelter.
Metric: Participation documentation submitted to program director
Learning Outcomes and Competencies
Competence of the Augsburg PA Learning Outcomes for each student is assessed across program curriculum and confirmed through summative evaluation (End of Curriculum Exam and OSCE) prior to graduation. These are the program required competencies for entry level practice, as defined by the PA profession:
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Medical Knowledge:
Demonstrate core knowledge about established and evolving biomedical and clinical sciences and the application of this knowledge to patient care. In addition, students are expected to demonstrate an investigative and analytic thinking approach to clinical situations. -
Interpersonal and Communication Skills:
Demonstrate interpersonal and communication skills that result in effective information exchange with patients, patients’ families, physicians, professional associates, and other individuals within the healthcare system. -
Clinical and Technical Skills:
Demonstrate patient care and education that is effective, safe, high quality, equitable and focuses on disease prevention. -
Professional Behaviors:
Demonstrate a high level of responsibility, ethical practice, sensitivity to a diverse patient population, and adherence to legal and regulatory requirements. -
Clinical Reasoning and Problem Solving Abilities:
Demonstrate the ability to compile, appraise and integrate evidence based medicine outcomes and apply to diagnostic studies, clinical interventions and therapeutic effectiveness.
PA NATIONAL CERTIFYING EXAMINATION (PANCE)
Augsburg PAs have a proven track record of success and graduates of our PA program consistently pass the PA National Certifying Exam (PANCE) at a rate that is at or higher than the national average. Our current 5 year average for first-time takers is 94% and 98.8% overall.
The majority of our new PA graduates were employed within six months of graduation. In addition, Augsburg PAs continue to be innovative in identifying and creating new areas for PAs to practice medicine. They report employment in primary care, women’s health, emergency medicine, urgent care, psychiatry, surgical specialties, and internal medicine sub-specialties.
PANCE PERFORMANCE
See below for the first-time taker pass rate and score information for physician assistant students who graduated in 2019–2022. PANCE pass rates will be displayed for public information as graduates complete testing.
Pass Rate |
(# of exams taken and passed) |
All-time Pass Rate |
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(not all graduates have taken the PANCE) |
(Results of final PANCE outcomes pending) |
| All-Exam Taker Five-Year Average | (2019-2023) |
(2019-2023) |
(2018-2022) |
See Augsburg’s Full PANCE Results (PDF)
ARC-PA Student Attrition and Graduation Rates
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| Maximum entering class size (as approved by ARC-PA) |
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| Entering class size | |||
| Graduates | |||
| *Attrition rate | |||
| **Graduation Rate | |||
*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.
(One student decelerated from Class of 2021, graduated with Class of 2023)