A qualitative study about the public's perception of primary care providers.

Objective: With the growth of physician associates/assistants (PAs) and NPs providing primary care services, we sought to understand the public's perception of the different types of healthcare providers (HCPs) they might encounter in a clinical setting, such as primary care.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate public perceptions about various types of primary care providers (PCPs), identify public preferences for PCPs in relation to experience and training, and examine public preferences for PCP credentials.

Methods: We conducted semistructured interviews with adults, and used inductive and deductive coding and reflexive thematic analysis to analyze the data.

Clinical Physician Assistant Students' Perceptions of Evidence-Based Medicine Resources: A Cross-Sectional Examination.

Evidence-based medicine (EBM) instruction is required for physician assistant (PA) students. As a follow-up to an initial didactic year survey, this study seeks to understand which attributes of EBM resources clinical PA students find most and least useful, their self-efficacy utilizing medical literature, and their usage of EBM tools in the clinic. Results indicate that students preferred UpToDate and PubMed.

Post stroke pain: Is there under-diagnosis in Black versus White patients?

Stroke incidence is higher and stroke outcomes are poorer in Black patients compared to White patients. Poststroke pain, however, is not a well understood stroke outcome. Using the National Institutes of Health All of Us Research Program database, we hypothesized that the dataset would demonstrate proportionately higher relative risk of poststroke pain in the Black poststroke patient population compared to the White poststroke patient population.

Opioid use disorder and motivational interviewing: Training physician assistants for the epidemic.

Objectives: (1) To evaluate the effectiveness of a curriculum on physician assistant (PA) students' knowledge about opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment and management and (2) present student satisfaction with the curriculum.

Methods: Three cohorts of PA students completed pre- and post-intervention questionnaires about their knowledge of motivational interviewing (MI) for OUD. One cohort of students completed the 11-item questionnaire without exposure to the intervention (control group).

Screening for post-traumatic stress disorder among Latinx immigrant children.

Latinx children face psychosocial, linguistic, and economic challenges that put them at an increased risk of developing mental health conditions. Primary care providers should be equipped to recognize the complex mental health needs of this growing population. This article explores some of the barriers to mental health screenings in Latinx children and presents culturally sensitive, validated screening tools for primary care providers.

Physician Assistant Student Attitudes Toward Gamification of Cardiac Auscultation Instruction.

Introduction: Current physician assistant (PA) learners have a clear preference for interactive learning that is vibrantly present in new media technologies. At present, there is a paucity of research regarding use or acceptability of gamification in PA education. The purpose of this study was to examine PA students' experience with, attitudes toward, and outcomes of a gamified cardiac auscultation curriculum.

Are Physician Assistants Able to Correctly Identify Prescribing Errors? A Cross-Sectional Study.

Purpose: (1) To describe how often physician assistant (PA) students correctly identify prescribing errors and (2) examine between-cohort differences on ability to correctly identify prescribing errors.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 2 cohorts of PA students at one institution. Students were presented with 3 hypothetical prescriptions, 2 of which contained a prescribing error.

Central Application Service for Physician Assistants Fifteen-Year Data Report 2002-2016.

Purpose: This study highlights trends in available physician assistant (PA) applicant and matriculant data over the first 15 years of the Central Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA) service (2002-2016). This study expands knowledge identified in the CASPA 10-year data report.

Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of CASPA data from all CASPA-participating PA programs between 2002 and 2016.

The 2017 North Carolina STOP Act is Associated With an Accelerated Decrease in Opioid Dispensing: A Statewide Analysis, 2013-2019.

Background: This study aimed to: 1) quantify the dispensing and days' supply of opioid prescriptions prior to and after the NC STOP Act went into effect among Medicare Part D beneficiaries; 2) evaluate how the STOP Act impacted physician assistant and nurse practitioner opioid prescribing; and 3) evaluate whether the NC STOP Act is associated with reductions in opioid prescriptions' days' supply among Medicare Part D beneficiaries.

Methods: This was a secondary analysis of Medicare Part D Public Use Files for 2013-2019. Only North Carolina providers and select Schedule II (CII) and III (CIII) drugs and tramadol (CV) were included in the analysis.

American Indian/Alaska Native men are less likely to receive prostate-specific antigen testing and digital rectal exams from primary care providers than White men: a secondary analysis of the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey from 2012-2018.

Purpose: (1) Identify the proportion of primary care visits in which American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) men receive a prostate-specific antigen test (PSAT)and/or a digital rectal exam (DRE), (2) describe characteristics of primary care visits in which AI/AN receive PSA and/or DRE, and (3) identify whether AI/AN receive PSA and/or DRE less often than non-Hispanic White (nHW) men.

Methods: This was a secondary analysis of the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) during 2013-2016 and 2018 and the NAMCS Community Health Center (CHC) datasets from 2012-2015. Weighted bivariate and multivariable tests analyzed the data to account for the complex survey design.

A Discrete Choice Experiment to Assess Patient Preferences for Asthma Rescue Therapy and Disease Management.

Background: With the expanding treatment landscape for asthma, the process of identifying best-fit, individualized management options is becoming increasingly complicated. Understanding patients' preferences can inform shared decision-making between clinicians and patients.

Objectives: To examine preferences of adults with asthma for therapeutic and management attributes and determine how these preferences vary among patients.

What Physician Assistants Prefer in a Postprofessional Doctorate Program: A Cross-Sectional Rating and Rankings Study.

Purpose: The physician assistant (PA) literature has focused on the implications of creating an entry-level doctoral degree; however, there is scant primary literature on postprofessional doctorates, which are becoming more popular as the number of institutions offering them increases. The purposes of this project were to: (1) describe interest and motivation of currently practicing PAs to enroll in a postprofessional doctorate program and (2) identify the most- and least-preferred attributes of a postprofessional doctorate program.

Methods: This was a quantitative cross-sectional survey of recent alumni from one institution.

Exploring the Professional Identity Formation of Racial/Ethnic Minoritized Physician Assistants.

Introduction: The purpose of this article is to (1) describe how professional identity intersects with physician assistants' (PAs') and PA students' racial and ethnic identities and cultural backgrounds; (2) examine how sociohistorical contexts shape professional identity in racial/ethnic minoritized PAs and PA students; and (3) identify the role of PA program administrators and faculty to address the needs of racial/ethnic minoritized PAs and PA students.

Methods: This study draws on elements of constructivist grounded theory to investigate the professional identity formation (PIF) experiences of 45 PA students and alumni from 3 institutions. Participants were recruited using a snowball method and identified as 23 Black/African American, 12 Hispanic/Latino, 6 mixed race, and 4 Native American/Indigenous.

The Prevalence of Low-Value Prostate Cancer Screening in Primary Care Clinics: A Study Using the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey.

METHODS: RESULTS: CONCLUSIONS:

Didactic Physician Assistant Students' Perceptions of Evidence-Based Medicine Resources: A Preliminary Investigation.

Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) instruction is required for physician Assistant (PA) students. This pilot study surveyed didactic PA students at three geographically diverse PA programs at the end of their didactic EBM course to understand which attributes of EBM resources they find most and least useful, and their self-efficacy in searching and appraising medical literature. Thematic analysis identified the most important student-reported attributes of a resource.

A Cross-Sectional, Mixed-Methods Analysis to Identify the Relative Importance of Factors Students and Providers Evaluate When Making a Job Choice.

Little is known about the relative importance of factors that contribute to job choices among health care providers. A convenience sample of 173 health care providers (N=134) and physician assistant students (N=39) completed a cross-sectional survey. Participants rated the importance of sixteen job- (e.

Suboptimal Control of Asthma Among Diverse Patients: A US Mixed Methods Focus Group Study.

Purpose: The US National Asthma Education and Prevention Program updates and Global Initiative for Asthma report encourage considering the patient perspective to improve asthma control. The objective of the present study was to collect data about the perceptions, experiences, and concerns of adult patients and caregivers of children with asthma regarding rescue, maintenance, and oral corticosteroid treatments.

Patients And Methods: In-person focus groups were conducted in three cities across the US.

Impact of Patient-Specific Aminoglycoside Monitoring for Treatment of Pediatric Cystic Fibrosis Pulmonary Exacerbations.

Objective: Aminoglycosides are frequently used for empiric and definitive treatment of cystic fibrosis (CF) pulmonary exacerbations. Various methods have been described for aminoglycoside therapeutic drug monitoring. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of patient-specific pharmacokinetic calculations for aminoglycosides used to treat CF pulmonary exacerbations.

Adaptation and factor structure of three psychometric instruments measuring behavioral aspects of medication prescribing in physician assistants.

Objectives: (1) Present the factor structure of two psychometric instruments for self-efficacy and one for outcome expectations of medication prescribing; (2) evaluate the reliability of the scales, and (3) present preliminary evidence of validity.

Methods: Physician assistants (PA) and PA students completed a survey evaluating three psychometric instruments: (1) Self-Efficacy in Prescribing (SEP), (2) Self-Efficacy in Prescribing-Geriatric (SEPG), and (3) Outcomes Expectations of Prescribing Errors (OEP). Students also evaluated 3 hypothetical prescriptions, two of which contained a prescribing error.

Continuity of Care Among Postmenopausal Women With Cardiometabolic Diseases in the United States Early During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Findings From the Women's Health Initiative.

Background: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, public health measures, including stay-at-home orders, were widely instituted in the United States by March 2020. However, few studies have evaluated the impact of these measures on continuity of care among older adults living with chronic diseases.

Methods: Beginning in June 2020, participants of the national Women's Health Initiative (WHI) (N = 64 061) were surveyed on the impact of the pandemic on various aspects of their health and well-being since March 2020, including access to care appointments, medications, and caregivers.

Job attributes valued by physicians, PAs, and NPs: A cross-sectional survey.

Objective: This study evaluated the relative importance of job-, community-, and individual-related factors that contribute to job choice among physicians, physician assistants (PAs), and NPs, to inform policy options to recruit clinicians to rural areas.

Methods: A cross-sectional online survey of PA preceptors from three institutions in two states. Participants were asked to rate the importance of 16 job-, community-, and individual-related factors when choosing a job.

Does Learner Self-Efficacy Influence Accurate Identification of Heart Sound Descriptions?

Introduction: Although physician assistant (PA) training includes cardiac instruction, there is a lack of theory-based research investigating skill and behavioral development in PA students. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between self-efficacy and ability to correctly identify heart sounds.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 2 cohorts of PA students at one institution.

Dual Process Clinical Reasoning Assessment: Quantifying the Qualitative.

Purpose: The objectives of this study were to: (1) describe a standardized clinical reasoning (CR) assessment process for preclinical physician assistant (PA) students; (2) describe student grades on a checklist by comparing clinical faculty members' judgment on a global rating scale (GRS) with judgments made by a faculty panel; and (3) evaluate interrater reliability between individual faculty members' grading and faculty panel grading.

Methods: Three clinical faculty members created a checklist to assess preclinical PA students' CR on a standardized patient assessment. Individual faculty graders and a panel of faculty graders evaluated student performance.