| Abstrakt: |
PURPOSE Higher education in the United States has become increasingly expensive. For the 2014-2015 academic year, the average annual cost for undergraduate tuition, fees, room, and board was $16,188 at public institutions, $23,372 at private for-profit institutions, and $41,970 at private nonprofit institutions. Compared with the 2004-2005 academic year, prices at public institutions increased 33% and prices at private nonprofit institutions rose 26%. Not surprisingly, 74% of students enrolled at any institution are employed an average of 25.5 hours per week. Physician assistant (PA) students often are discouraged from working while in school. Most PA programs nationwide encourage students to be unemployed during the program, due to the exceptionally demanding curriculum and minimum grade requirements. This study sought to determine if working affected grade point averages (GPAs) among PA students during their first year of the professional PA curriculum. METHODS An email request for permission to survey students was sent to the program personnel of two PA programs in New York state. Institutional review board approval was granted by D'Youville College. An anonymous face-validated 13-question survey was distributed by program personnel via email to PA students who had graduated or would graduate between 2016 and 2019 at the two participating PA programs. Survey questions included demographics, hours worked, earned GPA, and whether the student was able to complete schoolwork during work hours. The sample population was 97. SPSS software was used to analyze data, including descriptive analysis and t-tests. RESULTS Results revealed a mean age of 23 years (SD = 5.4 years), mostly female participants (80%), who were unemployed (n = 55, 56%). Of the 42 who were employed, 26 (61.9%) reported that they were able to study while on the job. Eighty-five participants (88%) stated that their school had advised them to be unemployed while enrolled in the first year of the PA program. No statistically significant difference in GPAs was found between students who worked (n = 42, average GPA 3.57) and those who did not work (n = 55, average GPA 3.53) (P = .14). No statistically significant difference in GPA was found between students who were able to study at work (n = 26) versus those unable to study at work (n = 16) (P = .14). CONCLUSIONS The results of this study determined that working during the first year of PA school did not have a negative effect on GPA; in fact, students who worked had a higher GPA although it was not statistically significant. The results of this study may add to the current literature and may be a resource for PA students and programs. This information may be used to change the way student employment is viewed by PA programs nationwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
