Non-native English-speaking applicants and the likelihood of physician assistant program matriculation

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Effective communication is vital in patient care.
• Multilingual healthcare providers can improve care for patients with limited English proficiency.
• Matriculating multilingual providers is essential for equitable healthcare access.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between English as a second language (ESL) status of prospective Physician Assistant (PA) program applicants and their likelihood of matriculation.
• To determine if non-native English speakers face disadvantages in PA program admissions.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of applicant data from the Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA) from 2012-2020.
• Logistic regression models (bivariate and multivariable) to assess the association between ESL status and PA program matriculation.
• Models adjusted for demographics, citizenship, GPA, patient care hours, and other factors.

Main Results:

• ESL status was significantly associated with lower odds of PA program matriculation across all study years.
• In adjusted models, ESL applicants had 35% lower odds of matriculation (OR 0.65).
• Results remained consistent in sensitivity analyses, including those with high TOEFL scores.

Conclusions:

• Non-native English-speaking applicants face significantly lower odds of matriculating into PA programs.
• PA program admissions processes may disadvantage ESL applicants.
• Addressing these disparities is crucial for training a diverse PA workforce that can serve all patient populations effectively.