The MPAS program measures the success of meeting the program's goals through evaluations made by our graduates and their employers.
Maintain an accredited program that ensures graduates are practice-ready.
The St. Catherine University Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS) program assesses this goal through (1) its accreditation status with the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) and (2) a 2-year employer survey of recent graduates. Since the program’s inception in 2012, the program has maintained its accreditation status. In 2015, it received the maximum accreditation available for an additional 10 years.
ARC-PA Accreditation
| YEAR | YEARS ACCREDITED |
|---|---|
| 2012 | 3 (initial accreditation) |
| 2015 | 10 |
| 2025 | future accreditation visit |
Employer Surveys Conducted at Two Years Post-graduation
A second way we assess graduates' readiness to practice is through an employer survey. Previously, this was conducted at 18 months post-graduation but in 2020 the timing was changed to two years to capture more time on the job. Employers are asked to compare the St. Kate’s graduate’s qualities and skills to that of their expectations for a new PA graduate. Specifically, employers reflect on the graduate’s medical knowledge, clinical proficiency, behavioral skills, and overall abilities. Below we report the “Overall Rating” for graduates within the past 5 years. Employers used a 5-point scale from 1=Unable to Assess to 5=Very Good.
| COHORT YEAR | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Response Rate* | 33% (N=5) | 85% (N=20) | 89% (N=23) | 82%(N=9) |
| Employer Overall Mean Rating—St. Kate's Grad | 4.8 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 4.6 |
| Employer Overall Mean Rating—New Grad | 4.4 | 3.9 | 4.1 | 3.63 |
*Based on the number of graduates who provided an employer email contact.
Goal 2: Deliver an innovative integrated curriculum that emphasizes clinical reasoning, team-based care and scholarly practice.
The St. Catherine University MPAS program delivers an integrated curriculum that intentionally combines foundational and clinical science components with skills training. The core curriculum is taught through body systems, populations, a social determinants of health perspective and practice settings. The components of the didactic foundation are classroom learning, evidence-based medicine, community engagement activities, and an integrated clinical experience. Classroom sessions combine lectures, problem-based learning, skills training, and group exercises. More than 50% of the curriculum is delivered in a non-lecture format. As part of their capstone activity, students participate in a 6-week community clinical quality improvement project after their clinical rotations are completed. Each year, at least one student team presents a research or quality improvement project at a national conference and/or publish their work in peer-reviewed journals.