APAP Committee Report, September 22, 2000

Committee Name: Research and Review

Committee Chair: Rick Dehn, MPA, PA-C

Current Activities:

--Review of survey instruments utilized for surveying APAP member programs, faculty, or students is ongoing.

--Peer-review of small grant program applications as needed per grant cycle (ongoing). Most recent cycle was completed for grants to be awarded October 2000. Four proposals were fully funded, and one proposal partially funded by $20,000 earmarked for small grants program. The next small grant cycle will be for awards to be made in October 2001.

--Ongoing discussions are being held with NCCPA about cooperation with research activities. AAPA is considering starting a focused research mechanism to fund work by investigators outside the AAPA. Both of these events, if successful, will likely have an impact on or involve the APAP research community.

--The J.Peter Nyquist Student Writing Contest will again be conducted by the Research and Review Committee again this year (ongoing).

Completion dates: As above

Accomplishments/Success Stories:

--Development of objective criteria for accepting/rejecting survey instruments was completed last May and posted on committee's web site.

--Search for new administrator of J. Peter Nyquist Student Writing Contest was completed. I. Keir Todd, MEd, PA-C, from Central Michigan University PA Program will become chair of the J. Peter Nyquist Student Writing Contest Subcommittee and will administer this year's contest.

--A substantial increase for funding the J. Peter Nyquist Student Writing Contest has recently been secured, and this funding will be used increase the support for honoring the winners at the May meeting.

Grant funding will be awarded October 2000. Twenty proposals were received, up from thirteen in the last cycle. Fifteen reviewers participated in a review process that was conducted entirely electronically. Four proposals will be fully funded, and one proposal will be partially funded. The proposals chosen to receive funding are:

--$4845, Sue Enns, MHS, PA-C Instructor, Department of Physician Assistant, Wichita State University; Richard D. Muma, MPH, PA-C, Chair and Associate Professor Department of Physician Assistant Education Saint Louis University; Marvis J. Lary, PhD, PA-C, Chair and Assistant Professor, Department of Physician Assistant, Wichita State University; "Examining Attitudes Of Specialist Physicians Regarding Physician Assistant Referrals."

--$5000, Anita Duhl Glicken, Associate Professor, Pediatrics, UCHSC CHA/PA Program, "Enhanced Informatics Instruction in an Evidence-Based Medicine Course: A Project-Based Curriculum with Computer Mediated Support."

--$5000, Dawn Morton-Rias, PHd, PA-C, Assistant Professor and Chairperson, SUNY Health Science Center at Brooklyn (Downstate), Physician Assistant Program, "The Level Of Interest And Perceived Need Of Baccalaureate Prepared, Practicing Physician Assistants And Physician Supervisors In Master's Level Post-Graduate PA Education."

--$3600, David Asprey, PhD, PA-C, Associate Professor and Program Director, The College of Medicine, University of Iowa PA Program, "Student Perceptions of Mistreatment and Abuse During Physician Assistant Education."

--$1555 (partial funding), Anna-leila Williams, PA-C, MPH, Assistant Director for Clinical Curriculum, Yale University PA Program, "PA Student Research: Valuable Educational Exercise or Onerous Challenge?"

The chair and committee have reviewed and approved 7 surveys since the May meeting. Survey activity is listed on the R&R web site.

A Research and Review Committee closed list serve is currently in use. It appears to be useful in allowing members to discuss committee issues as they come up rather than twice a year at meetings. The Research and Review Committee web site has been successful at keeping the survey review and grant activities organized.

Concerns:

The small grant program may not be evaluating proposals for research quality as well as it could. The committee will re-visit the small grant program to make sure it is accomplishing its goals of encouraging the development of research skills among the APAP faculty. A subcommittee will be formed to redefine the goals and objective of the program and make recommendations as to how the committee might accomplish them. If necessary changes to the review process will be undertaken to help the committee meet the objectives of the small grant program.

The J. Peter Nyquist Student Writing Contest has recently secured a substantial increase in funding. In the past prizes were paid directly from the sponsor. Occasionally this has been problematic when the sponsor delayed payment to the winners. It is likely in the future we will give winners hotel accommodations, transportation, and conference registration as well as cash prizes. I may be best to have APAP purchase these items in order to keep the cost under control. It is likely that APAP will need to set up a mechanism where the Nyquist sponsor pays APAP to administer the contest prizes.

Budget Issues: Current research grant requires $20,000 for awards that has been allocated. New funding for the J. Peter Nyquist Student Writing Contest may need to be administered by APAP staff.

Board Action Required: None