Physician Assistant Student Training in Question Formulation: A Quasi-Experiment.

Purpose: To measure improvement in evidence-based practice (EBP) question formulation skills in physician assistant (PA) students using a new approach that included a rubric.

Methods: Quasi-experiment study design featuring pre- and posttests in which the participants are their own controls using a paired t-test to measure skills improvement.

Results: Physician assistant students increased their skills in formulating EBP questions by a statistically significant margin.

Study Skills and Test Taking Strategies for Coaching Medical Learners Based on Identified Areas of Struggle.

Introduction: Learners in high-performing contexts such as medical school and residency are presumed to have appropriate study skills to be successful. However, for those learners in academic difficulty who are identified as having weak study skills and poor test taking skills, faculty need tools to use to lead these struggling learners to academic success. In coaching learners on study skills, we frequently found that the study skills that helped them get into medical school or residency were no longer sufficient to make them successful in their new program.

A Hospitalist mentoring program to sustain interest in healthcare careers in under-represented minority undergraduates.

Background: Ethnic minorities in the United States have decreased access to healthcare and disproportionately high morbidity and mortality. There has been minimal growth in the number of minority physicians despite their important role in reducing health disparities. Under-represented minority (URM) undergraduate students are 50% less likely to maintain interest in medical careers.

Failure to fail: the institutional perspective.

Purpose: To determine institutional barriers to placing failing students on probation, dismissing students.

Methods: An online survey study was distributed to Student Affairs Deans or the equivalent at allopathic (MD) and osteopathic (DO) medical schools, and physician assistant (PA) and nurse practitioner (NP) schools across the United States. Nineteen (40%) of the 48 schools responded: six MD, four DO, five PA and four NP.