Preadmission predictor variables and their relation to academic and clinical performance in the University of Southern California primary care physician assistant program

Thirty-two preadmission predictor variables are utilized to assess the academic and clinical performance of 223 graduates and 100 current students of the University of Southern California Primary Care Physician Assistant Program (USC PA Program). The predictor variables include gender, ethnicity, participation in the Health Careers Opportunity Program (a federally-funded program within the USC PA Program), age, highest post-secondary degree earned, preadmission cumulative and science prerequisite undergraduate grade point average, selected undergraduate sciences grade point average, number of undergraduate sciences completed, ratio of four-year undergraduate withdrawals to number of undergraduate courses completed, ratio of four-year undergraduate units to total number of undergraduate units, ratio of full-time undergraduate semesters completed to total number of undergraduate semesters completed, and scores on a departmentally-constructed pre-entrance science examination. The two criterion variables are mean percentage scores on 27 didactic examinations completed during the first year of the program and 9 clinical examinations administered in the second year of the two-year USC PA Program.;Forward multiple regression analyses is used to demonstrate that scores on the departmentally-constructed preadmission examination are the best predictor of both didactic and clinical performance, accounting for 22% of the didactic and 20% of the clinical performance variance. Eight other variables contribute to didactic success and nine others contribute to clinical success, although added predictability is small beyond the inclusion of the preadmission examination in the regression. Results are discussed in relation to the need for health profession achievement theories, implications for selection practice, and recommendations for future research.