Mission
The mission of the University of New England Physician Assistant Program is to prepare master's level primary care physician assistants to be highly skilled members of interprofessional health care teams. The program is committed to developing clinicians who will provide compassionate, competent, and evidence-based, patient-centered health care to people of all backgrounds and cultures throughout their lifespans. The program places special emphasis on training clinicians who are knowledgeable about the health care needs of our aging population and have the skills and passion to provide health care to people in underserved rural and urban communities.
Graduate Outcomes
The degree to which we are successful in meeting our program goals is demonstrated by our graduate outcomes as they are reflected in graduate surveys and pass rates on the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination (PANCE). Our graduate outcomes survey results are covered in the table below. These results reflect our graduates' outcomes as they relate to our program goals.
UNE PA PROGRAM SUCCESS IN MEETING GOALS
Goals
Maintain ARC accreditation
The UNE PA Program has maintained continuous accreditation since 1998, with the next accreditation review in 2026.
Maintain a curriculum designed to educate students to meet entry-level PA competencies as outlined by PAEA, AAPA, NCCPA, and ARC-PA
5-year PANCE first-time pass rate is 92% indicating the acquisition of the necessary knowledge and skills for a new PA graduate.
Program learning outcomes are based on the above entry-level competencies. The curriculum and individual courses are designed to map all course learning outcomes and assessments to these Program outcomes.
Recruit qualified applicants from underrepresented backgrounds
UNE PA matriculating applicants reveals a higher percentage of most underrepresented backgrounds in the UNE PA class as compared to overall Maine population.
| U.S. Census 2020 | Percent of New England Population | Percent of Maine Population | CO 2024 Percent of Applicants | CO 2024 Percent Matriculating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White | 76.70 | 93.70 | 73.52 | 91 |
| Hispanic | 9.60 | 1.41 | 1.08 | 2.20 |
| Black | 6.60 | 1.23 | 3.14 | 2.20 |
| Asian | 4.50 | 1.10 | 14.27 | 2.20 |
| Mixed/Other | 2.61 | 2.53 | 7.90 | 2.20 |
| Native American | N/A | N/A | 0.10 | 0 |
Contribute to the PA workforce needs of New England
Of those accepting a position upon graduation, 64% (Class of 2023) and 89% (Class of 2024) accepted a position within New England.
Graduate clinicians knowledgeable about the aging population and competent to practice in rural and underserved populations.
Didactic Year
Pharm I-III
Of the 521 total pharmacy cases discussed throughout the didactic year, 188 of them (36%) relate to geriatric patients (65 years and older).
IGEP I and II
The UNE PA Program has a two-semester didactic course, Interprofessional Geriatric Education Program, which provides a foundation for the principles of geriatric medicine with an interprofessional approach. Patient care topics covered and visits to elders span from independent living through dementia/end of life care.
Clinical Year (Class of 2024)
All clinical year students are placed in a rural location to experience and learn to overcome the unique challenges of practice in these rural locations. Rural visits comprised 54% of all patient visits. Twenty-seven percent of all clinical year visits were serving patients in underserved areas. Thirty-eight percent of all patient visits during the clinical year involved providing care to geriatric patients (65 years old and older).