Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36819434›Full record

ArticleCureus2023

Physician Assistant Students' Perception of Online Didactic Education: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Daniel L Anderson, Jeffrey L Alexander

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Cureus, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Daniel L AndersonPhysician Assistant Studies Hybrid Program, Franklin Pierce University, Goodyear, USA.
Jeffrey L AlexanderArizona School of Health Sciences, A.T. (Andrew Taylor) Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine, Mesa, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeThis study describes physician assistant students' perception toward online didactic education and highlights relationships between student characteristics and their preference for online learning.

methodsA previously validated survey questionnaire was administered online to physician assistant students enrolled in traditional, in-person training programs across the United States. The survey consisted of five Likert-scale statements measuring perceptions of online learning and was rated on a seven-point Likert scale. Students also reported their age, gender, history of taking an online course, and preferred learning style. Mean scores were reported for agreement with each Likert-scale statement; Pearson correlation coefficients, one-way ANOVA with post hoc Tukey tests, and independent samples t-tests were used to determine relationships between student characteristics and their preference for online learning.

resultsA total of 391 completed surveys met the inclusion criteria for the study and were used in data analysis. The average age of respondents was 25.98 years, 81.1% (n = 317) were female, 96.2%, (n = 376) reported taking an online course previously, and preferred learning styles were reported as 36.1% (n = 141) visual, 7.7% (n = 30) auditory, 15.6% (n = 61) reading/writing, and 40.7% (n = 159) kinesthetic. Nearly a quarter of respondents indicated they preferred online courses, particularly students with a preferred learning style of reading/writing. No relationships were observed between age, gender, or history of taking an online course and preference for online education.

conclusionMost physician assistant students prefer in-person learning. However, a substantial number prefer online learning, and a significant number of these students reported a preferred learning style of reading/writing. More research is necessary to give educational institutions the ability to make data-driven, student-centered program development decisions. However, data in this study indicate a need for continued development of online/hybrid physician assistant programs to better align with current student preferences.

Indexed as

hybrid medical educationonline learningonline medical educationperceptions of online educationphysician assistant education

Identifiers

PMID36819434
PMCPMC9931029

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.