Physician assistant and nurse practitioner faculty cultural competence: a comparative analysis

To determine if there was a statistically significant difference between physician assistant (PA) faculty and nurse practitioner (NP) faculty cultural awareness and sensitivity (CAS) and cultural competence behaviors (CCB).

This quantitative comparative analysis utilized the Cultural Competence Assessment (CCA), to measure participants’ cultural competence (CC) subscales of CAS and CCB. PA and NP faculty, broadly defined as any PA or NP licensed to practice within a United States jurisdiction and functioning as full- or part-time faculty, adjunct faculty, guest lecturers, or clinical preceptors, participated online. Descriptive statistics were used to generate a depiction of the sample and central tendencies of the CAS and CCB scores. The data were then analyzed using the independent-samples t-test.

PA (n = 100) and NP (n = 102) responses were evaluated. For each of the subscales, NP faculty scored marginally higher than their PA counterparts. However, the differences in CAS (P = 0.463) and CCB (P = 0.353) scores failed to achieve statistical significance. The results uncovered that for both groups, CAS scores were higher than CCB scores. This finding may indicate that attitudes and desires regarding diversity and CC are greater than participants’ ability or willingness to manifest CC.

While there was not a statistically significant difference in the CC scores between PA and NP faculty, there are theoretical and practical implications for employers, NP and PA faculty, NP and PA program administrators, and accrediting organizations for each profession.