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PAEA Research and Data Workgroup

Background: Becoming a Knowledge-Based Organization

Like many associations worldwide, PAEA faces important developmental changes. As PAEA President Anita Glicken discussed in her January PAEA Networker column, organization management in general is moving from an administrative process traditionally grounded in political decision-making to a more rational, business-like decision-making model based on key data and information. Dynamic changes in the health care and medical education environment also create daily challenges and opportunities.

For this reason, there has never been a more important time to reaffirm our mission and core values and make sure that the Association’s strategic planning and decision-making is solidly supported by quality data and information.

In the past, much of PAEA’s research has been an annual dip of the bucket into a moving data stream, (e.g., the annual report), rather than a continuous process that allows the Association to maintain constant communication with members and stakeholders about their needs and preferences. For a knowledge-based association, research is an ongoing and necessary capability.

Establishing the PAEA Data and Research Workgroup

To support PAEA as a knowledge-based association, the Data and Research Workgroup was established in 2006. The collective vision of this group, supported by member feedback, will provide an important roadmap for future work. The group's charges are to:

• Review the Association’s existing Annual Report survey instrument and offer recommendations to the board
• Review and analyze current PAEA survey instruments and related reports
• Review survey instruments and reports from related organizations
• Recommend research priorities for the Association, including opportunities for collaboration with other organizations

 

The group is exploring a range of information-gathering tools that would allow the Association to capture relevant and important data across the continuum of PA education. The overall goal of the workgroup is to establish important data sets that will inform the Association’s response to changes in the health care system and medical education environment and to help proactively predict those changes. Continual member feedback will help the group establish data sets that more accurately reflect the needs of PA programs and the Association.

Transparency and Trust

Information and knowledge are powerful tools that can be both used and abused. The Data and Research Workgroup realized early on its discussions that an important part of its work will be to foster a culture of trust and transparency as data-sharing protocols are developed. Summaries of the group's work will be posted on this site, and the group will regularly seek comment and input from Association members and other interested stakeholders. All perspectives are welcomed in this dialogue and differences of opinion are expected and valued.

Denver Meeting
November 28-29

Proceedings of the Data and Research Workgroup Meeting, November 28-29

The workgroup met for the first time in November, 2006, to identify potential data sets that would effectively inform Association decision-making. The chair developed the following framework to guide the group's discussions:

1.	Where are we now, why are we here?	Current position of PA profession/ education within the context of changing medical practice; critical certainties and uncertainties
2.	Clarifying the purpose of the research agenda	Earning a reputation for relevance Sustaining knowledge and using it appropriately
3.	Clarifying the essential role of research	What decisions do we want to make? What information do we need? What are the sources of the information? How will we collect the information? How will we tabulate the data? How will we analyze and interpret the data?
4.	What is our current research portfolio	Who and what do we currently collect information about? How do we currently collect the information? Who else currently collects this information?
5.	What do we visualize for our future research portfolio	Who and what should we collect information about? How should we collect the information? Should we collaborate with others to collect this information?
6.	Strategic assessment of our proposed research portfolio	Program attractiveness Competitive position Alternate coverage Sustaining knowledge and using it appropriately
7.	Clarifying the key research initiatives	Who are the major stakeholders? What are the implications of their interest in this initiative? How should we collect this information? Should we collaborate with others to collect this information?

 

The group spent two days addressing these issues.  Several recommendations followed the meeting, including the need to create a new research position for the Association. The Association moved quickly to act on this recommendation, and Mei Liang, MS, became the first PAEA staff member dedicated to research when she assumed the position of assistant director, data and research on April 16.

The group also identified several proposed areas for future PAEA data collection, and developed draft data sets. Workgroup members agreed that general feedback about the proposed data agenda should be solicited from the membership at this point in the process.

Membership Feedback Opportunity

In preparation for the next meeting of the Data and Research Workgroup, June 26-27, PAEA leaders have been asked to provide input and feedback on several proposed areas for PAEA data collection. Some of these data sets represent information that has traditionally been collected through the annual survey; others represent new areas of data collection.

Over the next year the workgroup will be considering a variety of mechanisms for data collection, including an online response system through which data could be collected directly from students and/or faculty, and a variety of potential data sets. Member feedback on this important survey will help the group develop a plan for a more comprehensive approach to data collection across PA education. 

The data sets listed in this survey were generated by the workgroup at its recent meeting in Denver, based in part on data already collected by PAEA. The data sets are comparable to those gleaned from other organizations that collect similar information.

 

 

 

 

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