Does Community College Attendance Affect Matriculation to a Physician Assistant Program? A Pathway to Increase Diversity in the Health Professions

Authors: Qian Luo, PhD, MPSA | Clese Erikson, MPA | Ryan Chitwood | Cynthia Yuen

Topics: Education and Training, Primary Care

Research Center: GW Health Workforce Research Center

November 24, 2020

Community colleges (CC) are an important pathway to the physician assistant (PA) profession, with 3 of 4 matriculants having a CC background. However, lower matriculation rates among similarly qualified applicants who transferred from a CC to a 4-year university compared to applicants with no CC background suggest that PA programs are missing important opportunities for increasing student diversity and thereby the profession.

This article explores whether CC applicants were a significant contributor to the diversity of matriculants to PA programs and whether CC applicants were less likely to matriculate to PA programs than non-CC applicants.

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