Faculty-Generated Research Grant: Make Your Research Project a Reality
Can a standardized test of critical thinking predict the success of PA students in the didactic phase of their education? And does the primary type of educational pedagogy used by PA programs have an impact on clinical reasoning of students?
These were the questions that Tony Miller, MEd, PA-C, and C. Jayne Brahler, PhD, were interested in answering. And thanks to PAEA’s Faculty-Generated Research Grant, they were able to conduct their research project, expanding the existing body of knowledge on PA education.
As recipients of the 2017 Faculty-Generated Research Grant, Miller and Brahler received $50,000 to fund their study, collecting data from 23 universities (953 students) on Health Science Reasoning Test (HSRT) scores. What they discovered is that there was no significant difference in HSRT scores between genders or among age categories, or between programs that used a hybrid or lecture method of teaching. But they did find a significant difference when it came to required hours of pre-work in health care. Students in programs that required at least 100 hours of pre-work scored significantly higher on the HSRT.
Information like this is vitally important to the PA education community — which is why we are supporting this type of research.
Do you have a novel research question you would like to address? Then don’t miss this valuable opportunity! Find out more and submit your Letter of Intent by September 15.
