Program Goals and Outcomes

The DMU PA program has maintained accreditation since April 1, 1983.

DMU actively works to recruit and select competitive applicants for the Physician Assistant program. Over the past five years, the PA Program has received on average 15 applications for every seat available.  Applications are reviewed through a holistic lens, using all aspects of the application data to select a diverse and highly qualified class of students. Each year, approximately 130 candidates are interviewed for the 50 seats available.

• Des Moines University is a graduate health sciences university. The university’s focus on health sciences provides an environment of common interests and collaboration.
• As part of the Clinical Patient Assessment course, Des Moines University PA students are required to participate in activities sponsored by the Des Moines Area Interprofessional Education Consortium, which integrate physician assistant, osteopathic medicine, podiatric medicine, physical therapy, pharmacy, nursing, and dental hygiene students from local institutions. As part of the Introduction to Clinical Medicine course, students participate in a university-supported IPE activity.

Student Experience Survey

First and second-year students, from April 2017, 56/98 students (57%) response rate

“I have really enjoyed getting to know other students in the other professions. I enjoy that DMU is only for graduate health care professions.”
— PA 2017 student

• The first 12 months of the PA program includes a rigorous and comprehensive didactic curriculum consisting of 80 credit hours, which contains several integrated system courses within the DMU Colleges of Osteopathic and Podiatric Medicine.

• The second year of the PA program is divided into 48 weeks of Supervised Clinical Practice Experiences (SCPEs) in the following disciplines: Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, General Surgery, Psychiatry, Emergency Medicine, Pediatrics, Women’s Health, and various electives.

PA Program Graduate Survey 3 Year Comparison Report

Graduates’ opinions on the program’s didactic curriculum and clinical experience.

“I appreciated my education both during my clinical and didactic year. I appreciated the progressive changes that were being made to the didactic year by new faculty last year and relative flexibility of the faculty.”
— PA 2016 student

Overall Student Opinions

“The PA program really helped me grow as a provider. I feel confident treating future patients and interacting with colleagues.”
— PA 2016 student

The PA program values input from students about their overall DMU experience. This information is taken into account during the continuous performance improvement process. The university uses a standardized benchmark of ≥80% for meeting expectations regarding survey responses.

Student Experience Survey
First and second-year students, April 2017, 56/98 students (57%) response rate.

“The faculty members are great, passionate, and caring people who truly want students to succeed.”
— PA 2016 student

• The Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) at Des Moines University assists students with a broad range of academic services and programs designed to help learners achieve their academic and personal goals. Students are provided with individual and group opportunities needed to become successful, active learners. CTL promotes the development of independent learning techniques that contribute to academic success and the establishment of life-long learning skills.
• DMU offers a Student Counseling Center with a mission to provide a range of psychological services that serve to empower, support, and assist students in the pursuit of their personal, professional, and academic endeavors.
• The Wellness Center at DMU offers a wide variety of activities and services for students at all stages of fitness.  The friendly, highly knowledgeable wellness staff provides information, training, support, and confidence necessary to improve overall health and achieve wellness goals.
• The DMU PA program has a 1:8 faculty to student ratio per class. This assures students have opportunities to meet with their faculty advisors on a regular basis.

  Student Experience Survey
  Student Experience Survey from April 2017, 56/98 students (57%) response rate

  Statement	Agreement
  My advisor demonstrates an interest in my welfare and success	91%
  My advisor is available to me when needed	89%
  My advisor monitors or supports my academic progress	87%
  My advisor provides referrals to resources and assistance as needs arise	83%
  I feel enabled and supported to take an active role in my education and career goals	91%
  I am able to develop and maintain a professional relationship with my advisor	91%

  “My advisor is very understanding and interested in my success. I trust my advisor for guidance about my education and career.”
  — PA 2017 student

  “He is encouraging and takes notice in my successes and provides recommendations for improvements. I feel very lucky to have such a great advisor/mentor.”
  — PA 2017 student

• The DMU PA program has proven higher than national average graduation rates (93.5%), according to national data from the 29^th PAEA Annual Report.
• An internal benchmark of a ≥94% graduation rate has been set by the DMU PA program. See graduation rate above.

• Through frequent hands-on simulation labs and standardized patient experiences, the DMU PA program emphasizes the tenet of beneficence. In the Standardized Performance Assessment Lab (SPAL) students are evaluated on their humanistic skills through a rubric which includes the following categories: non-verbal communication, verbal communication, empathy, listening skills, and professionalism.  Students assess, and reflect on, their humanistic skills through watching their SPAL patient encounter video recording.  Students are able to monitor their progression of humanistic skills throughout the curriculum.
• Faculty are continually assessing student aptitude and fitness for the Physician Assistant profession. As part of this monitoring, students are required to complete an introspective professional behavior rubric mid-way through their didactic year and compare their responses with those of their advisor and other DMU community members participating in the process.

• Assessments in the clinical year address not only medical knowledge and procedural proficiency, but also professionalism, honesty, integrity, empathy, and communication skills necessary to treat patients compassionately.

• Professionalism is one of six defined competency domains the PA program collects data on via curriculum mapping software.

2016 PA Program Student Learning Assessment Report

2015 PA Program Student Learning Assessment Report

• During the didactic year, PA students take an Introduction to Research and Epidemiology course, which includes instruction on the evaluation of evidence-based research articles.
• The PA Professional Issues course presents educational material specifically designed to teach the students the process and the importance of on-going professional development and certification maintenance.
• Des Moines University hosts an annual Research Symposium, where students and researchers from a variety of institutions highlight their research. First-year PA students are required to attend the event, and second-year PA students are invited to present their Capstone Project research.
• Des Moines University Continuing Medical Education (CME) Department’s mission is to provide quality, evidence-based educational opportunities which support research and scholarly activities that are designed to enhance the competence, performance, and patient outcomes of health professionals. Des Moines University students, faculty, preceptors, and alumni are encouraged to attend CME events to expand the scope of knowledge as it relates to their practice.
• All DMU PA students are members of the Iowa PA Society and the American Academy of Physician Assistants.

• View the five-year official report from NCCPA (pdf)