2016 Program and Curriculum Surveys Now Out

Summer time is survey time at PAEA! The 2016 Program and Didactic Curriculum Surveys, including survey information and links, were sent to all program directors via email on June 8.

The Program Survey is the most comprehensive of PAEA’s surveys, gathering data on programs’ budgets, personnel, students, and graduates. Data from the Program Survey are published by PAEA’s Research team in By the Numbers: Report on Physician Assistant Educational Programs in the United States.

The 2016 Curriculum Survey will collect information about the didactic phase of programs’ curricula. The 2015 Curriculum Survey, which gathered data on program prerequisites, will be published this fall. The data contained in these reports are helpful when benchmarking your program’s outcomes to others. Next year’s survey will focus on programs’ clinical curricula.

Both surveys are due August 3. Programs that complete and submit both surveys by the deadline will be entered into a drawing to win a free registration to the 2016 Education Forum in Minneapolis.

Feeling overwhelmed about completing the surveys? Here are some tips for make filling out the surveys as painless as possible:

1. You don’t have to fill out the surveys in one sitting! Program directors receive unique links to both surveys, which means data are automatically saved so surveys can be completed over the course of several days or weeks.
2. Have your program personnel help. Take a look at the Program Survey — download the PDF version here. Your academic coordinator may be the person with the most expertise when it comes to filling out the Curriculum Survey, and your admissions personnel may be the logical choice for filling out the student section of the Program Survey.
3. Refer to last year’s survey. Last year, program directors were able to download PDF copies of their responses to the Program Survey. Forgot to download it? Contact research@PAEAonline.org to request your answers from last year.
4. Ask questions! Contact PAEA research staff with any questions, concerns, or requests.

Thanks for doing your part to provide timely, accurate data for the PA education profession!