title: Strategies and perceived barriers to recruitment of underrepresented minority students in physician assistant programs.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this descriptive cross-sectional study was to identify the characteristics and effectiveness of recruitment strategies for underrepresented minorities (URM) and barriers to URM applicants to physician assistant programs.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 108-question survey was e-mailed to 168 physician assistant programs; 36 partial and 67 fully completed surveys were returned. The fully completed surveys were used in the data analysis. Participants were asked about the use of 20 recruitment strategies and the importance of 34 perceived barriers to enrollment of URM applicants.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 20 recruitment strategies, only 4 were used by close to 50% or more of programs: site visits (61.2%), preadmission counseling (58.2%), student loans (57.6%), and presentations targeted to minority students (47.8%). Only 9% of programs used enrichment courses, but this strategy was rated as most effective. Of the 34 barriers, the most frequent was low undergraduate grade point average (GPA) (82.5%). Self-reported success in recruitment was correlated with increased URM matriculation. Higher proportion of African American and Hispanic faculty on admissions committees was correlated with increased rates of URM matriculation. According to a similar survey, compared with medical schools, physician assistant programs use URM recruitment strategies less frequently and perceive financial barriers as a larger problem.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The academically competitive physician assistant applicant pool decreases the need for recruitment of all students. Use of GPA and standardized test scores as sole criteria for admission and lack of recruitment of URM students lead to a decrease in diversity. If the physician assistant profession desires to improve student diversity in programs, they should consider using a more holistic approach for the admission process, which may allow for a more flexible and individualized review of applicants.
authors.affiliation: Michelle DiBaise, MPAS, PA-C, is an associate clinical professor and director of Admissions at Northern Arizona University, Phoenix, Arizona. Helen Salisbury, PhD, is an assistant professor at Northern Arizona University. Attila Hertelendy, PhD, MHSM, MS, NREMT-P, is an assistant professor at Northern Arizona University. Richard D. Muma, PhD, MPH, PA-C, is associate provost at Wichita State University, Wichita, Kansas.
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: DiBaise
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Salisbury
authors.forename: Attila
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hertelendy
authors.forename: Richard D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Muma
mesh_terms: D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D018864:Cultural Diversity; D006801:Humans; D008913:Minority Groups / Q000193:education*; D010465:Perception; D010560:Personnel Selection; D010823:Physician Assistants / Q000193:education*; D012570:School Admission Criteria; D014146:Training Support