Background and Purpose. There is a paucity of published literature regarding the correlation between faculty attributes and education program pass rates on the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE) particularly regarding the physical therapist assistant (PTA). The purpose of this study was to 1) determine if there is a relationship between faculty attributes in PTA educational programs and program outcomes on the NPTE for Physical Therapist Assistants (NPTE-PTA) and 2) construct a prediction model for PTA program outcomes based on faculty attributes. Subjects. The 233United States’ PTA programs accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) in 2006 were studied. Methods. Using a retrospective design, data were obtained regarding the PTA programs from the dataset of CAPTE’s PTA annual accreditation report and the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy’s pass rate database. Selected faculty attributes (designation of highest degree conferred, years of teaching experience, employment status, license designation [physical therapist or physical therapist assistant] and clinical specialization) were correlated to first time program pass rates. Backward deletion regression was used to predict the first time pass rate on the NPTE-PTA.Results. Based on data from 190/233 PTA programs, seven attributes had a statistically significant relationship to the outcomes on the NPTE-PTA. They were the number of: 1) full-time faculty; 2) adjunct faculty with an associate’s degree; 3) full-time faculty with a terminal degree; 4) core faculty with a terminal degree; 5) all faculty with a terminal degree 6) years of teaching experience of the full-time faculty; 7) years of teaching experience of the core faculty. Backward deletion regression analyses demonstrated an overall model of two combined predictor factors (full-time faculty years of teaching and full-time faculty terminal degree) that significantly predicted the first time pass rate on the NPTE-PTAaccounting for 6.5% of the variance. Discussion and Conclusion. Faculty attributes of the institutions providing PTAprograms are associated with first time pass rates of their graduates. This study provides a foundation for future studies by identifying some of the faculty attributes that relate to NPTE-PTA outcomes.
Surgical postgraduate examiners and examinees in Nigeria complain of the low pass rate at all levels of the postgraduate surgical training examinations to which several factors are contributing. For several years there has been being a persistently low surgeon workforce in the country despite having two surgeon producing institutions been for at least 37 years. A review of the probable causes was carried out to shed more light on the matter. At the time of writing there are 52 National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria (NPMCN) and 46 West African College of Surgeons (WACS) accredited post graduate surgery training programs in Nigeria compared with 99 in the United Kingdom (UK) and 1056 in the United States (US). Based on available data Nigeria has approximately 572 surgery residency training slots yearly compared with approximately 646 in the UK and 4225 in the US. Examination pass rate was less than 40% for primary WACS compared with 98% pass rate in USMLE (United States Medical Licensing Examination) 3, pass rate at part I was 28.8% for WACS compared with 37% at MRCS (Membership Royal College of Surgeons) part A and 57% for MRCS part B. For the exit examination or part II WACS pass rate was 31.5% (general surgery) while it was 64% for Fellowship Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS) cumulative and 70% in the American board of surgery (ABS). Surgeon per 100 000 population was 0.69 for Nigeria compared with 11.7 and 25.6 for the UK and US respectively. In the last 35 years WACS has produced 1638 surgeons (2.8 times more than NPMCN) in surgery and NPMCN has produced 572. The frequency of examination were twice per year for both WACS and NPMCN examinations, 3 times per year for the USMLE step 3, MRCS (A & B) and Fellowship Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS) general surgery. The American Board of Surgery (ABS) is once per year for Qualifying Examination (QE) and 5 times per year for Certifying Examination (CE).
It has been suggested that in environments where there is greater fear of litigation, resident autonomy and education is compromised. Our aim was to examine failure rates on American Board of Surgery (ABS) examinations in comparison with medical malpractice payments in 47 US states/ territories that have general surgery residency programs. We hypothesized higher ABS examination failure rates for general surgery residents who graduate from residencies in states with higher malpractice risk. We conducted a retrospective review of five-year (2010–2014) pass rates of first-time examinees of the ABS examinations. States’ malpractice data were adjusted based on population. ABS examinations failure rates for programs in states with above and below median malpractice payments per capita were 31 and 24 per cent ( P < 0.01) respectively. This difference was seen in university and independent programs regardless of size. Pearson correlation confirmed a significant positive correlation between board failure rates and malpractice payments per capita for Qualifying Examination ( P < 0.02), Certifying Examination ( P < 0.02), and Qualifying and Certifying combined index ( P < 0.01). Malpractice risk correlates positively with graduates’ failure rates on ABS examinations regardless of program size or type. We encourage further examination of training environments and their relationship to surgical residency graduate performance.
Purpose: This study aimed to examine the modifiable programmatic characteristics reflected in the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) Annual Accreditation Report for all accredited programs that reported pass rates on the National Physical Therapist Examination, and to build a predictive model for first-time and three-year ultimate pass rates. Methods: This observational study analyzed programmatic information from the 185 CAPTE-accredited physical therapy programs in the United States and Puerto Rico out of a total of 193 programs that provided the first-time and three-year ultimate pass rates in 2011. Fourteen predictive variables representing student selection and composition, clinical education length and design, and general program length and design were analyzed against first-time pass rates and ultimate pass rates on the NPTE. Univariate and multivariate multinomial regression analysis for first-time pass rates and logistic regression analysis for three-year ultimate pass rates were performed. Results: The variables associated with the first-time pass rate in the multivariate analysis were the mean undergraduate grade point average (GPA) and the average age of the cohort. Multivariate analysis showed that mean undergraduate GPA was associated with the three-year ultimate pass rate. Conclusions: Mean undergraduate GPA was found to be the only modifiable predictor for both first-time and three-year pass rates among CAPTE-accredited physical therapy programs.
Abstract
Background
Residents deemed at risk for low performance on standardized examinations require focused attention and remediation.
Objective
To determine whether a remediation program for residents identified as at risk for failure on the Emergency Medicine (EM) Written Board Examination is associated with improved outcomes.
Intervention
All residents in 8 classes of an EM 1–3 program were assessed using the In-Training Examination. Residents enrolled in the Focused Board Intervention (FBI) remediation program based on an absolute score on the EM 3 examination of <70% or a score more than 1 SD below the national mean on the EM 1 or 2 examination. Individualized education plans (IEPs) were created for residents in the FBI program, combining self-study audio review lectures with short-answer examinations. The association between first-time pass rate for the American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM) Written Qualifying Examination (WQE) and completion of all IEPs was examined using the χ2 test.
Results
Of the 64 residents graduating and sitting for the ABEM examination between 2000 and 2008, 26 (41%) were eligible for the program. Of these, 10 (38%) residents were compliant and had a first-time pass rate of 100%. The control group (12 residents who matched criteria but graduated before the FBI program was in place and 4 who were enrolled but failed to complete the program) had a 44% pass rate (7 of 16), which was significantly lower (χ2 = 8.6, P = .003).
Conclusions
The probability of passing the ABEM WQE on the first attempt was improved through the completion of a structured IEP.
Abstract
Date Presented Accepted for AOTA INSPIRE 2021 but unable to be presented due to online event limitations.
This presentation provides OT practitioners working in the academic setting with an overview of the admissions process used by an OT program and the importance of criteria for admissions, primarily the Verbal Reasoning section of the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE). A binary logistic regression was used to analyze the data to determine whether the GRE was a significant predictor of a first-time pass rate on the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) exam. The results were significant (p < .00) for the Verbal Reasoning section.
Primary Author and Speaker: Don M. Bradley
Additional Authors and Speakers: John Luna
Contributing Authors: Roel Garcia
Abstract
Objectives
The Transfusion Medicine In-Service Examination (TMISE) is offered twice a year to transfusion medicine (TM) fellows. We examined the relationship between TMISE scores and outcomes of the American Board of Pathology (ABP) TM subspecialty certifying examination (TM boards).
Methods
TM fellowship programs were contacted to provide anonymous data about TM fellows, their scores on TMISE, and outcome of TM boards.
Results
Of 48 TM fellowship programs contacted, 24 (50%) responded with data for 170 fellows. Average TMISE score of fellows who passed their first TM boards attempt was 71.3, while the average TMISE score of fellows who failed their first TM boards attempt was 64.3 (P = .009).
Conclusions
TMISE scores correlated with passing TM boards on the first attempt. Fellows who took the TM boards the same year that they graduated from TM fellowship had a significantly higher first-time pass rate than fellows who delayed taking TM boards.
The National Physical Therapist Assistant Examination's First Time Pass Rates and Their Relationship to Education Program Faculty Attributes