Reasons for unsuccessful research submissions to JAAPA.

OBJECTIVE: PA authors face many barriers to publication and may benefit from additional transparency in the editorial decision-making process. This study examined the most common reasons for rejection of original research submissions to JAAPA. METHODS: Senior JAAPA editors conducted a thematic analysis of reviewer and editor comments and used these broad themes to classify the reasons for rejection of original research manuscripts submitted to JAAPA. RESULTS: From October 2015 through December 2018, 77 research manuscripts were submitted to JAAPA. Fifty-six manuscripts were rejected, resulting in an overall rejection rate of 73.7%. Common reasons for rejection included: methodologic issues (55.4%), content outside the journal's scope (42.9%), poor writing quality (17.9%), guideline nonadherence (3.6%), lack of novelty (3.6%), and author(s) declining to revise the manuscript (1.8%). CONCLUSION: The most common reasons for manuscript rejection can be overcome through research planning and manuscript preparation.

The Role of Technology in Health Professions Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has sparked radical shifts in the ways that both health care and health professions education are delivered. Before the pandemic, some degree programs were offered fully online or in a hybrid format, but in-person learning was considered essential to the education and training of health professionals. Similarly, even as the use of telehealth was slowly expanding, most health care visits were conducted in-person. The need to maintain a safe physical distance during the pandemic rapidly increased the online provision of health care and health professions education, accelerating technology adoption in both academic and professional health care settings. Many health care professionals, educators, and patients have had to adapt to new communication modalities, often with little or no preparation. Before the pandemic, the need for cost-effective, robust methodologies to enable teaching across distances electronically was recognized. During the pandemic, online learning and simulation became essential and were often the only means available for continuity of education and clinical training. This paper reviews the transition to online health professions education and delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic and provides recommendations for moving forward.

Association of prehospital antiplatelet therapy with survival in patients hospitalized with COVID-19: A propensity score-matched analysis.

PURPOSE: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is associated with hypercoagulability and increased thrombotic risk. The impact of prehospital antiplatelet therapy on in-hospital mortality is uncertain. METHODS: This was an observational cohort study of 34 675 patients ≥50 years old from 90 health systems in the United States. Patients were hospitalized with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 between February 2020 and September 2020. For all patients, the propensity to receive prehospital antiplatelet therapy was calculated using demographics and comorbidities. Patients were matched based on propensity scores, and in-hospital mortality was compared between the antiplatelet and non-antiplatelet groups. RESULTS: The propensity score-matched cohort of 17 347 patients comprised of 6781 and 10 566 patients in the antiplatelet and non-antiplatelet therapy groups, respectively. In-hospital mortality was significantly lower in patients receiving prehospital antiplatelet therapy (18.9% vs. 21.5%, p < .001), resulting in a 2.6% absolute reduction in mortality (HR: 0.81, 95% CI: 0.76-0.87, p < .005). On average, 39 patients needed to be treated to prevent one in-hospital death. In the antiplatelet therapy group, there was a significantly lower rate of pulmonary embolism (2.2% vs. 3.0%, p = .002) and higher rate of epistaxis (0.9% vs. 0.4%, p < .001). There was no difference in the rate of other hemorrhagic or thrombotic complications. CONCLUSIONS: In the largest observational study to date of prehospital antiplatelet therapy in patients with COVID-19, there was an association with significantly lower in-hospital mortality. Randomized controlled trials in diverse patient populations with high rates of baseline comorbidities are needed to determine the ultimate utility of antiplatelet therapy in COVID-19.

Accreditation and implications of clinical postgraduate PA training programs.

No consensus definition exists for postgraduate physician assistant (PA) training. This report from the AAPA Task Force on Accreditation of Postgraduate PA Training Programs describes the types of clinical training programs and their effects on hiring and compensation of PAs. Although completing a postgraduate program appears to have no effect on compensation, PAs who complete these programs may be favored in the hiring process and frequently report greater confidence in their skills. More research is needed and program accreditation is key to monitoring the effectiveness of these programs.

Interprofessional Education: What Measurable Learning Outcomes Are Realistic for the Physician Assistant Profession?

PURPOSE: To compare physician assistant (PA) students' attitudes regarding interprofessional education by students' seniority, gender, age, and previous experience with interprofessional education. METHODS: The validated 19-item Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale and the 12-item Interdisciplinary Education Perception Scale were administered to matriculating and graduating PA students from 2 US institutions (N = 186). Primary outcomes were score differences by subgroup and institution using independent sample t-tests. We also examined scale validity measured by Cronbach's alpha (internal consistency) and Pearson correlation coefficients (concurrent validity). RESULTS: Student demographics at both institutions were similar. Initial comparisons did not demonstrate significant institutional differences. Consequently, data were combined for subsequent analyses. Matriculating students had significantly higher mean Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale scores than did graduating students. No significant differences were found by gender, age, or previous interprofessional education exposure for either scale. Both scales demonstrated high internal consistency (Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale α = 0.93; Interdisciplinary Education Perception Scale α = 0.84). CONCLUSIONS: Physician assistant student attitudes regarding interprofessional education are very positive at matriculation and are less positive at graduation. Physician assistant student attitudes do not vary by gender, age, or previous interprofessional education exposure. Physician assistant educators should ensure that students' interprofessional education exposure makes full use of the students' initial positive attitudes and focuses on skill development for interprofessional education competencies.