Harvard Macy Fellow Reflects on Transformative Experience
Kristy Goodman, MS, MPH, PA-C, is principal faculty and the associate director of continuous improvement at the PA program at Southern California University of Health Sciences. She recently completed her year-long fellowship with the prestigious Harvard Macy Institute’s Program for Educators in Health Professions with PAEA’s scholarship support. During the program, participants collaborate with a small group of scholars on a project that they propose to implement at their home program. The project addressees a specific challenge and becomes “central to their learning experience at Harvard.” Goodman was able to pursue a project that promises to benefit PA education nationwide while developing her skills as an educational leader.
Goodman’s project focused on creating a comprehensive crosswalk between two assessment blueprints in PA education: one from the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) and a second one from PAEA. Her work revealed significant variation between these frameworks and provided a foundation for curriculum improvements across PA programs.
What initially drew you to apply for the Harvard Macy scholarship?
I had been wanting to work on this specific project for a few years, but I never had the time or accountability structure to complete it. The Harvard Macy program offered exactly what I needed — a timeline to meet and accountability to my peer group and mentors. I also believed this project would benefit not just my own institution, but the wider PA education community.
Can you explain your project in simple terms?
I created what’s called a “crosswalk” between two important blueprints in PA education. The NCCPA has their blueprint for the PANCE exam that highlights topics students will be tested on post-graduation. PAEA also has blueprints for the End of RotationTM exams that students take during their clinical year. The challenge is these two blueprints don’t match completely.
Most programs base their curriculum on the PANCE, but my theory was that this might leave gaps if they weren’t also looking at the PAEA topics. My crosswalk highlights where these topics overlap and where they differ, so PA programs can ensure they’re teaching comprehensively across both assessment frameworks.
How was the Harvard Macy program structured?
The program consisted of two intensive weeks with monthly virtual meetings in between. The October session included lectures on teaching strategies, project development, and change management. What made it especially valuable was being surrounded by healthcare educators from different fields — mostly physicians, PAs, and other clinicians. Getting feedback from people outside PA education gave me a completely different perspective on my work.
In May, I traveled to Boston to present my project in a poster session at Harvard Medical School. “Being at the Harvard campus is impressive in and of itself. But it was so inspiring to be among brilliant people who came in from all over the country,” Goodman said.
What were the key takeaways from the program?
The lectures were incredibly motivating. The program teaches proven, real-world strategies for becoming a more effective educator in health professions. Many of us come from clinical backgrounds and rely on what we learned during our own training to inform our teaching styles. Harvard Macy provided evidence-based approaches to education and practical solutions for creating institutional change and overcoming resistance.
The networking aspect was invaluable too. In PA education, you can often feel siloed. It was so refreshing to see how educators in medical schools or speech pathology programs might approach similar challenges.
What has been the impact of your project?
The findings were actually quite surprising. I discovered substantial variation between the NCCPA and PAEA blueprints — an unexpected result that challenged assumptions about alignment. When I applied this crosswalk to audit our didactic syllabi, we found numerous topics that weren’t explicitly tied to instructional objectives.
The work has already been implemented in our program, and I’m confident it will benefit our curriculum and help close potential gaps in student knowledge.
What advice would you give to other PA educators considering applying?
When I first applied it was kind of on a whim, unsure if I’d get in. But I am so thankful that I applied. The program was time intensive but absolutely worth it. It’s especially beneficial to early- to mid-career educators and I would absolutely encourage anyone who has an interest in continuing education or who has a specific project to apply to the Harvard Macy program.
What comes next?
I’m eager to share this work with the broader education community and look forward to presenting it at the 2025 PAEA Annual Education Forum in San Diego.
This year’s recipient of the Harvard Macy scholarship is Brooke Miller, DMSc, PA-C, program chair of the physician assistant/physician associate (PA) program at Logan University. Congratulations, Brooke.
