PAEA Collaborates with PA Program on Admissions and DEI Best Practices

PAEA is committed to helping member programs improve admissions policies in line with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) best practices. This October, Donna Murray, DMSc, MS, PA-C, Senior Director of Admissions, and Emma Sellers, MS, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, met with faculty at one PA program to discuss practical steps this program can take to integrate these best practices into their program policies and culture. During this meeting, PAEA consulted with program faculty and administrators to review the program’s DEI initiatives and develop a strategic plan in alignment with ARC-PA Standard A1.11, which mandates programs maintain a commitment to student, faculty, and staff diversity and inclusion.

The conversations that took place during this visit focused primarily on the intersection of recruitment and retention of students underrepresented in medicine (URiM), as well as fostering a culture of inclusion at the program. PAEA’s staff lent support in identifying existing resources available at the member program’s institution to facilitate their implementation of DEI best practices, including expanding partnerships and articulation agreements to increase diversity in the program’s applicant pipeline. Examining a diversity of metrics and adopting a holistic admissions review process is key to building accountability into PA program admissions.

PAEA is committed to creating inclusive learning environments. Our strategic goals include supporting programs as they prepare the next generation of PAs to deliver quality care that is representative of the populations they will serve. To accomplish these goals, PAEA invites feedback and collaboration with member programs to build cultures and program policy infrastructures that empower all students, faculty, and staff to thrive. PAEA offers programs and educators with resources such as the Project Access Tool Kit, the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Tool Kit, and one-on-one consultations with programs to facilitate localized implantation of DEI best practices. If you would like to schedule a campus visit or a virtual consultation with PAEA’s DEI practitioners, contact DEI Coordinator Ranya Shannon (rshannon@PAEAonline.org) or Admissions Project Coordinator Kelly Powell (kpowell@PAEAonline.org).