Journal article
Analysis of Institutional Financial Stability and Physician Assistant Program Accreditation Outcomes
The journal of physician assistant education, Vol.36(4), pp.348-355
12/2025
DOI: 10.1097/JPA.0000000000000680
PMID: 40532094
Abstract
Many institutions are facing financial challenges that may adversely affect physician assistant (PA) programs. This study examines the relationship between the financial stability of private, nonprofit institutions offering entry-level PA programs and accreditation outcomes.
This cross-sectional study explored a possible association between Composite Financial Index of sponsoring institutions for 3 years preceding the most recent ARC-PA review and the program's accreditation outcome for reviews between 2017 and 2023. Institutional characteristics were summarized for programs experiencing positive compared with adverse accreditation outcomes. Logistic regression was used to examine the association between Composite Financial Index and accreditation outcome while controlling for the effects of institutional characteristics and program's time since initial accreditation.
The study included 144 PA programs (119 with positive accreditation outcomes, 25 with adverse outcomes). Almost all PA programs studied are financially stable. Institutional characteristics were unrelated to specialized accreditation status. "Insufficient human resources" was the most cited issue (17 instances), affecting 3.4% of programs with positive outcomes and 52% with adverse outcomes (P < .001). The average time between initial accreditation and the most recent review was significantly longer for programs with adverse outcomes (P = .02). Each additional year between the initial accreditation and most recent review increased the odds of an adverse accreditation outcome by 4%.
While new insights about accreditation success were found, questions remain about which financial measures predict an institution's ability to support PA programs. Future research should investigate why longer running programs face more adverse outcomes.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Analysis of Institutional Financial Stability and Physician Assistant Program Accreditation Outcomes
- Creators
- Jennifer A Snyder - Butler UniversityBrenda Quincy - Butler UniversityJacqueline Sivahop - Butler UniversityDavid Asprey - University of IowaDarwin Brown - Butler University
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- The journal of physician assistant education, Vol.36(4), pp.348-355
- DOI
- 10.1097/JPA.0000000000000680
- PMID
- 40532094
- NLM abbreviation
- J Physician Assist Educ
- ISSN
- 1941-9449
- eISSN
- 1941-9449
- Language
- English
- Electronic publication date
- 06/17/2025
- Date published
- 12/2025
- Academic Unit
- Physician Assistant Studies; Stead Family Department of Pediatrics; Medicine Administration
- Record Identifier
- 9984832183002771
Metrics
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