Continuing the Series

Hello readers! I’m sure you recall that in October, November, and December 2023, I presented a ten-blog series to accompany my webinar on how to handle the most common ARC-PA citations, specifically those citations received in response to Standards C1.03 and C1.02ci-iii. Today, I’m pleased to continue that series, discussing how to avoid the following most-cited Standards: B4.01a-b, B3.03, A1.02, A1.07, A2.09d, and B3.06.

My webinar of the same name is the basis for these blogs. For more information about this and upcoming, always-free webinars, please visit https://drscottmassey.com/. Access to the webinar recordings is available to those who belong to our Members Circle.  

First, I’ll summarize my aims in producing these webinars and their accompanying blog series. 

I do not speak for the ARC-PA. I base my recommendations on my 31 years of PA education experience and years of experience as a consultant. The webinars and blogs have factual content and personal conjecture combined. 

The increase in citations is a topic I feel strongly about. I want to provide faculty and program directors insights into current trends involving Commission actions. Things for PA programs have changed since the introduction of 5th Edition Standards, and keeping up can prove challenging. Programs on probation are much more common than they used to be. The rapid increase in the number of programs placed on probation impacts the PA education profession in what I believe is a harmful manner.

I do not intend to present a critical viewpoint of the Commission or its work. They perform an essential function. However, the complexity of the 5th Edition Standards requires specific data gathering, presentation, and review - and there is no standard playbook for the game yet.

Goals:

We have four goals to meet in examining citations under Standards B3 and B4:

1. Strategize how to align clinical learning outcomes with program-based assessment instruments to ensure compliance.

2. Conceptualize action plans that ensure that all clinical learning outcomes are measured and competency is demonstrated before the conclusion of the clinical year.

3. Self-assess your program’s measurements to ensure that all students demonstrate minimal competency before completing the program.

4. Give you the ability to troubleshoot areas of deficiency, looking for places in your SSR that need modification, where alignment with preceptor evaluation of student and clinical learning outcomes is problematic due to complex content.

The illustration above demonstrates the areas I will address during this series. How does one demonstrate compliance with B3.03 and B4.01a-b?

1. Crosswalk language of learning outcomes and preceptor evaluations verbatim. The language must mirror that in the Standards’ glossary. Remember that “crosswalk” is the term I use to describe aspects of continuity across your Self-Study Report.

2. Eliminate complex language within your learning outcomes that cannot be measured. When I go through some examples of citations, you’ll see that “complex content” is frequently referenced. I will walk through how you can identify complex content within your learning outcomes, preceptor evaluations, and so on, which may be deemed unmeasurable because there is too much information to measure in one question. 

3. Crosswalk procedures of learning outcomes. This is a common issue, meaning the program uses a template or passport, but the specific procedures are unnamed in the learning outcomes. 

4. Triangulate assessment methodology with each learning outcome. You must be sure that the assessment mirrors what you are trying to achieve. Ten years ago, for example, many of us had one preceptor evaluation tool, which was acceptable. Now, to those programs being evaluated for the first time under the 5th Standards, comprehensively, you must take a hard look at what you have because you may have to adjust how you assess in the Clinical year. The whole notion of triangulation of your learning outcomes, instructional objectives, and assessment modalities must take place.

5. Crosswalk the learning outcomes and instructional objectives. (I’m speaking more of the Clinical year. We also have the issue that ARC-PA is unclear regarding what it expects from instructional objectives, and I will give you examples to help clarify your responses.) 

Next time…

We will begin with Standard B4.01(a-b).

• 38 out of 98 programs between March 2022 and June 2023 received a citation for standard B4.01b.

• 36 out of 98 programs between March 2022 and June 2023 received a citation for standard B4.01a. 

These citations are irrevocably tied together because you can't identify deficiencies if you can’t align; thus, you may receive citations for (a) and (b). The good news is that solving B4.01b’s deficiencies makes it all the easier to solve B4.01a and vice versa.