100% pass rate for first cohort of Lipscomb PAs
The Class of 2020 was the only program in the state to complete on time in December.
Janel Shoun-Smith | 615.966.7078 |
When Lipscomb’s School of Physician Assistant Studies graduated its first cohort this past December, it not only celebrated its first students to complete the program, it celebrated the fact that it was the only program in the state to graduate its forthcoming class on time during the tumultuous year of 2020.
It followed that accomplishment up with a 100% first-time pass rate on the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE), and now enjoys a 100% job placement rate in the PA field, for the first cohort of 33 students to become licensed PAs.
The Covid-19 pandemic meant that in the final year of rotations for the Class of 2020, clinical sites began to close to students, often because hospitals were limiting personal protective equipment (PPE) or didn’t want to use health care providers’ time to educate while caring for patients, said Stephen Heffington, program director for the school.
With the future of its first cohort on the line, Lipscomb purchased PPE to allow students to continue their rotations throughout 2020. In addition, because of strong relationships with clinical providers and the quality of Lipscomb students, several sites opted to continue to allow Lipscomb students even while closing to other programs, said Heffington.
During 2020, the Tennessee Academy of Physician Assistants documented completion records for the nine PA programs in Tennessee, in order to show the impact of the pandemic in PA education, he said. In early 2021, the Physician Assistants Education Association reported that 60% of PA programs across the nation were forced to delay students’ completion of their programs in 2020.
Because Lipscomb had a larger number of clinical partnerships than many programs and because students could bring their own PPE, Lipscomb PA students were able to complete their studies on time and enter the workforce at a crucial time.
To ensure that Lipscomb PA students were prepared for their licensure exam this past spring, Lipscomb provided an online PANCE review course for the Class of 2020. In addition, the PA program was designed from the beginning with an eye toward preparing students to the PANCE exam, Heffington said.
The ups and downs of the pandemic years had an impact on immediate job placement for these first students, but 100% of the Class of 2020 have now found jobs as PAs, Heffington said,
Lipscomb’s second cohort of PA students is on time to graduate this December.