Program Success
The mission of the Physician Assistant Program at the University of Oklahoma, School of Community Medicine, Tulsa, is to train physician assistants to provide quality health care to the citizens of Oklahoma with an emphasis on serving diverse and underserved communities.
The OU-TU SCM Physician Assistant Program in Tulsa, Oklahoma was founded in 2008 to meet the needs of the state of Oklahoma for health care providers.
Since the first class graduated in 2010, the program has produced 284 PAs, 96% of the students who entered the program. All of the graduates have passed the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination (PANCE), with 98% doing so on their first attempt. Every graduate seeking employment is currently practicing clinically, with 81% in the state of Oklahoma. These outcomes illustrate that we are successful in providing quality PAs to the citizens of Oklahoma.
Our most impressive success is the fact that 45% of our graduates are providing primary care health care services to their communities. Similarly, approximately 23% of our graduates are providing services to underserved populations. These statistics demonstrate that our emphasis on serving in primary care and underserved populations is influencing graduates’ career choices.
| Summary of OU School of Community Medicine PA Graduates | |||||||||||||
| 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | TOTAL | ||
| PA Trainees | |||||||||||||
| Number Students Entering | 20 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 270 | |
| Number Students Graduating | 100% (20) | 100% (24) | 96% (23) | 92% (23) | 93% (25) | 96% (26) | 100% (26) | 96% (23) | 96% (23) | 100% (24) | 87.5% (21) | 96% (258) | |
| PANCE Performance | |||||||||||||
| First Time Pass Rate | 95% (19) | 96% (23) | 100% (23) | 100% (23) | 100% (25) | 100% (26) | 100% (26) | 100% (23) | 100% (23) | 100% (24) | 95% (20) | 99% (255) | |
| Employment | |||||||||||||
| Getting a PA job | 100%(20) | 100% (24) | 100% (23) | 100% (23) | 100% (25) | 100% (26) | 10% (26) | 100% (23) | 100% (23) | 100% (24) | 99% (20) | 100% (257) | |
| Practice Characteristics | |||||||||||||
| Rural communities | 20% (4) | 4% (1) | 22% (5) | 9% (2) | 20% (5) | 4% (1) | 12% (3) | 9% (2) | 4% (1) | 13% (3)3% (1) | 5% (1) | 11% (29) | |
| Suburban/Urban communities | 80% (16) | 96% (23) | 78% (18) | 91% (20) | 80% (20) | 96% (25) | 88% (23) | 91% (21) | 96% (22) | 88% (21) | 95% (19) | 89% (228) | |
| Primary Care | 40% (8) | 29% (7) | 61%(14) | 50% (11) | 38% (9) | 58% (15) | 46% (12) | 44% (10) | 39% (9) | 48% (11) | 35% (7) | 45% (116) | |
| Medical Specialties | 30% (6) | 33% (8) | 13%(3) | 27% (6) | 20% (5) | 19% (5) | 35% (9) | 30% (7) | 43% (10) | 25% (6) | 40% (8) | 28% (73) | |
| Surgery | 25% (5) | 21% (5) | 17%(4) | 14% (3) | 12% (3) | 12% (3) | 4% (1) | 8% (2) | 13% (3) | 8% (2) | 25% (5) | 14% (36) | |
| Emergency Medicine | 5% (1) | 17% (4) | 9%(2) | 9 % (2) | 28% (7) | 12% (3) | 15% (4) | 17% (4) | 4% (1) | 17% (4) | 0% (0) | 13% (32) | |
| Underserved populations | 25% (5) | 13% (3) | 22% (5) | 14% (3) | 17% (4) | 12% (3) | 42% (11) | 22% (5) | 13% (3) | 50% (12) | 20% (4) | 23% (58) | |
| Tulsa | 80% (16) | 63% (15) | 52%(12) | 59% (13) | 56% (14) | 73% (19) | 65% (17) | 39% (9) | 43% (10) | 54% (13) | 55% (11) | 58% (149) | |
| Oklahoma | 100% (20) | 71% (17) | 78% (18) | 73% (16) | 80% (20) | 88% (23) | 96% (25) | 78% (18) | 65% (15) | 83% (20) | 80% (16) | 81% (209) | |
| Out-of-state | 0% (0) | 29%(7) | 22%(5) | 27% (6) | 20% (5) | 12% (3) | 4% (1) | 22% (5) | 35% (8) | 17% (4) | 20% (4) | 19% (48) | |
| OU Tulsa PA Program Student Attrition | ||||
Class of 2019 | Class of 2020 | Class of 2021 |
| |
Maximum entering class size | 24 | 24 | 24 | |
Entering class size | 24 | 24 | 26 | |
Graduates | 24 | 21 | 26 | |
* Attrition rate | 0% | 12.5% | 0 | |
**Graduation rate | 100% | 87.5% | 100% | |
*Attrition rate calculation: Number of students who attritted from cohort divided by the entering class size.
**Graduation rate: Number of cohort graduates divided by the entering class size.
