Widener University PA Program Goals
For goal success metrics and other data, please view the Program Outcomes & PANCE Rate section.
1. Accept students with strong academic and clinical experience who are underrepresented in the physician assistant profession
a. Criteria 1—Students with strong academic and clinical experience
- Measures/Benchmarks
- Undergraduate cum GPA/ >3.0 average for the entering cohort
- Undergraduate science GPA/ > 3.0 average for the entering cohort
- Direct patient care/ > 500 average for the entering cohort
b. Criteria 2—Students who are under-represented in the Physician Assistant Profession
- Measures/Benchmarks
- Racial/ethnic diversity > 20% for the entering cohort
- Male gender > 20% for the entering cohort
2. Foster a student commitment to service
a. Criteria 1—Student involvement with community service
- Measures/Benchmarks
- Average number of hours of student community service by cohort/ >20 hours
3. Successfully prepare student for entry level practice.
a. Criteria 1—Student Summative Exam performance.
- Measures/Benchmarks
- Student Summative Exam/ >80% average by cohort
b. Criteria 2—Student PANCE performance
- Measures/Benchmarks
- Student first-time taker PANCE pass rates at or above national average
4. Emphasize a commitment to evidence-based medicine.
a. Criteria 1—Evidence-based medicine
- Measures/Benchmarks
- Preceptor evaluation of students (EBM)/ >3.5 avg. for cohort
- Faculty evaluation of curriculum (student EBM preparation)/ >3.5 avg. for cohort
- Student graduate exit survey (EBM preparation)/ >3.5 avg. for cohort
5. Prepare students to practice patient-centered care
a. Criteria 1—Patient-centered care
- Measures/Benchmarks
- Preceptor Evaluation of Students (Patient-centered care)/ >3.5 ave for cohort
- Faculty Eval of Course (Student Patient-centered care Preparation)/ >3.5 ave for cohort
- Student Exit Survey (Patient-centered care Preparation)/ >3.5 ave for cohort
6. Prepare student for interprofessional collaboration in their practice
a. Criteria 1—Interprofessional Collaboration
- Measures/Benchmarks
- Preceptor evaluation of students (interprofessional collaboration)/ >3.5 avg. for cohort
- Faculty evaluation of curriculum (student interprofessional collaboration preparation)/ >3.5 avg. for cohort
- Student graduate exit survey (interprofessional collaboration preparation)/ >3.5 avg. for cohort
Widener University PA Program Competencies
- Patient-Centered Practice Knowledge
- Recognize healthy patients and ill patients at different stages of illness including acute, emergent, and chronic.
- Demonstrate an ability to use the latest scientific evidence to inform clinical reasoning and problem solving.
- Demonstrate medical, behavioral, clinical, and technical skills needed to promote health, evaluation, and management of patient presentations across the lifespan.
- Recognize one’s own personal biases, work to overcome them, and do not allow them to affect the delivery of quality patient care.
- Understand that a patient’s community, culture, religion, sexual orientation, or other individual characteristics affect their health and strive to understand them.
- Health Literacy and Communication Skills
- Demonstrate an ability to communicate with patients as partners and use shared decision making to involve patients in their medical care.
- Recognize any barriers to communication or comprehension and work to correct them.
- Recognize the significance of health literacy in the patient population they serve.
- Society and Population Health
- Recognize and understand the effect of a patient’s community on their health and vis versa.
- Understand the effect that social determinants of health and health disparities can have on patient care and work to minimize these effects when engaged in clinical decision making.
- Interprofessional Collaborative Practice and Leadership
- Recognize that the patient is at the center of all healthcare decisions and partner with them to define their healthcare goals.
- Collaborate with other members of the healthcare team to develop a plan to best meet patient goals and needs.
- Recognize one’s limitations and defer leadership to another team member when doing so is in the best interests of the patient.
- Professionalism and Legal Aspects of Care
- Demonstrate integrity, honesty, beneficence, and professionalism in practice.
- Recognize and adhere to standards of care.
- Understand the legal and regulatory environment affecting PA practice.
- Systems Based Practice
- Demonstrate knowledge and skills needed to navigate the healthcare system successfully to deliver high quality patient-centered care.
- Demonstrate stewardship of resources with consideration of patients’ social & financial needs.