PAEA has developed this resource page to give our members a central place to go for the information they may need on the developing coronavirus (COVID-19) situation and how it is affecting US educational institutions and students on rotations in the US and abroad. This is also the best resource for the latest information on PAEA’s meetings and events. We will be monitoring the evolving guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and from state and local agencies and updating this page regularly.
Read the ARC-PA’s March 31 statement regarding COVID-19.
Read the ARC-PA’s March 20 statement.
Update March 12:
PAEA National Office Is Here to Support You; Will Move to Virtual
We have heard from many faculty that you are being asked to move to online teaching as institutions send students home, and many programs are dealing with rotation challenges. Please know we are ready to assist you during this challenging time. Effective Friday, March 13, the PAEA national office will move to full-time virtual for a period of time, to help protect our community and staff, and to remain true to our vision of “Health for All.” We anticipate no interruption to member services. Please reach out and let us know how we can best support you.
PAEA Events – Updated March 31, 2020
PAEA’s leadership team has been meeting regularly to consider contingency plans and continue monitoring the CDC’s situation summary and travel guidance, as well as other recommendations from state and local health authorities. Washington, DC, recently reported a couple of confirmed cases of the coronavirus and has also issued guidance. Our guiding principle is our Association vision of “Health for All” and promoting and protecting the health and safety of our members and staff.
As of Tuesday, March 31, the following events have been cancelled or postponed, or will be held virtually.
- March 17 – 18 (Washington, DC): PAEA Spring Advocacy Trip (to be rescheduled)
- March 18 – 20 (Washington, DC): PAEA Spring Workshops (cancelled)
- March 26 – 29 (Chicago, IL): Exam Development Summit (will be held virtually)
- April 3 (Stanford, CA): Leadership Lab (to be rescheduled)
- April 19 – 21 (Washington, DC): Volunteer Leadership Summit (cancelled; volunteer groups may meet virtually as needed)
- June 23 – 27 (Alexandria, VA): Program Directors 101 (will be transitioned to a blended format)
PAEA Resources
- We have a number of webinars to help you deal with remote teaching on this page.
- To provide a platform for resources and conversations beyond those happening at your institution, PAEA has created a Remote Teaching Channel within the Digital Learning Hub (DLH) to complement resources being provided by your campus teaching and learning center. If this is your first time visiting the DLH, fill out this form to sign up for a new account. We also encourage your contributions to this new channel as well.
- Covid-19 Info Exchange in the Professional Learning Community: With the current situation limiting face-to-face interactions, this online community was developed as a space for PAEA members to connect regarding how the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation is affecting PA programs across the country. Please use this gathering space to share responses, ideas, questions, resources, and stories with your colleagues.
PAEA Exams
In this unprecedented time, we are sensitive to the many demands on PA programs. We appreciate the hard work of those programs that have been able to comply with PAEA’s proctoring policies, but we realize that it is increasingly difficult in light of the COVID-19 outbreak. Below we identify important policy updates for each of our exams.
- PACKRAT®. PACKRAT is a student self-assessment that will continue to be available, without interruption. This exam can be delivered in a proctored or unproctored mode, onsite or remote, within a scheduled testing window. See instructions here. We encourage programs to leverage this option for students who are at home and might benefit from self-assessment and keyword feedback.
- End of Rotation™. PAEA is temporarily waiving our proctoring policies for the End of Rotation exams effective immediately and through the end of June. ExamDriver scheduling and administration procedures will remain unchanged — programs will still need to assign a proctor to start the exam at the appointed time, and in the event of inappropriate behavior, provide rationale for auto-paused exams.
Given this interim decision to waive the requirement for high-security remote proctoring tools, caution is advised when interpreting individual student performance, comparing scores to scores from previous administrations, and making inferences based on the national comparative data provided on score reports. The integrity of these administrations will rely on the honor system and codes of conduct of the educational institution, and thus cohort-level statistics may better reflect the shift in exam administration practices. Programs that wish to do so may continue to monitor students via remote proctoring services. - End of Curriculum™. PAEA continues to explore capabilities for delivering the End of Curriculum exam to students in remote settings. After considering all of the current possibilities, we have made the incredibly difficult decision to temporarily suspend access to and delivery of End of Curriculum exams to limit risks of exposure of this secure, standard-set exam. We have not yet identified a timeline to resume End of Curriculum administration. We will provide ongoing updates as they become available.
PAEA is working with PA programs to support changes you may need with your purchases and to address program-specific questions. More information will follow as soon as updates are available. Please contact us directly for support: Chat, exams@PAEAonline.org, or phone (866-749-7601).
External resources
Resources for/Regarding Students
- Update from ARC-PA
- Update from Federal Student Aid: Guidance for interruptions of study related to Coronavirus (COVID-19)
- The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators’ Coronavirus (COVID-19) web center
Source: Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering
A comprehensive discussion of the current threat to the nation, especially for those interested in the health professions.
For the PA Profession
Public Health Resources
Resources for Educators
Information and Prevention
- Background on the coronavirus
- Coronavirus fact sheet (PDF)
- Symptoms, prevention, and treatment
- Preventing the spread of coronavirus
- What to do if you are sick (PDF)
Maps of Cases
Resources for Healthcare Professionals
- For healthcare professionals
- For healthcare facilities
- For facilities: Getting your practice ready
- For health departments
Travel Information
Webinar
CDC experts provide an overview of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) response, how health systems can prepare, and strategies for optimizing N95 supply.
Download the webinar presentation slides