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Why Study
to become a Physician Assistant?
A physician assistant (PA) is a
medical professional who practices
medicine with the supervision of a
licensed physician. PAs provide a
wide variety of medical services
traditionally per-formed by
physicians. The concept for the
profession originated in the early
to mid-1960s as a way to enhance the
provision of medical care to people
residing in medically under-served
areas. The care of the underserved
remains an ongoing goal of the
profession. Physician assistants
work in all 50 states, Guam, and the
District of Columbia in a wide range
of medical settings including
physicians’ offices, hospitals,
clinics, emergency departments,
military and Veterans Administration
installations, nursing homes,
industrial health centers, and
correctional institutions. They work
in conjunction with a physician and
have a wide array of
responsibilities including taking
medical histories, conducting
physical examinations, ordering or
per-forming lab and other diagnostic
tests, synthesizing data to make a
proper diagnosis, developing a
treatment plan, per-forming
health-related counseling,
performing various procedures such
as casting and suturing, and
assisting in surgery. PAs can
prescribe medication in the majority
of states.
Physician
Assistant Program at PhilaU
The Physician Assistant Studies
program is a comprehensive academic
experience that stresses the
practical application of current
medical theory. Most of the program
faculty are actively practicing
health care providers with a great
depth of knowledge and experience.
Students are exposed to the clinical
environment throughout their
education with patient contact even
during the classroom or didactic
portion of the program. The
Physician Assistant Studies program
is fully accredited by the
Accreditation Review Commission on
Education for the Physician
Assistant (ARC-PA). The typical
student in the Physician Assistant
Studies pro-gram will spend
approximately $3,000 on medical
equipment, books, malpractice
liability insurance, and other
program-related fees for both
professional-phase years combined.
This does not include tuition,
housing, food, living expenses,
travel costs, health center fees,
graduation fees, and
pre-professional phase book costs.
All of these costs, except book
costs, are listed elsewhere in the
University catalog. While this is a
full-time, day program, the clinical
or practical portion may involve
some night and weekend hours.
Admission criteria, procedures and
technical standards are listed in
the Physician Assistant Studies
Program Information Booklet
available from the Office of
Admissions.
Freshman
Admission Option: Combined 5 Year
Degree
This option is designed for students
who have no, or few college credits
(less than 16 credit hours). It is
designed as a five-year course of
study and includes complete
undergraduate and graduate degrees.
The first six semesters (three
years) make up the pre-professional
phase, are designed to academically
prepare students for PA training and
provide a comprehensive general
education. The pre-professional
phase consists of medically related
science and psychology prerequisite
courses along with all of the
components of the College Studies
program. After successful completion
of the pre-professional phase (which
includes maintaining the required
grade point averages of 3.0
cumulative and 3.0 science and core
prerequisite acquiring the required
letters of reference, completing a
personal essay and obtaining
approval of the PA Program
Admissions Committee), students are
admitted to the professional phase.
Students must complete all required
courses in the pre-professional
phase to enter the professional
phase.
The professional phase is 25 months
of continuous study and includes the
didactic level that consists of
three semesters of classroom and
laboratory work in basic and applied
medical science, and the clinical
level that consists of six rotations
and four preceptorships at a variety
of clinical sites such as hospitals
and medical offices. Students must
complete all didactic-level courses
before they can enter the clinical
level. The first semester of the
professional phase is composed of
mandatory undergraduate foundation
courses. The remainder of the
courses in the professional phase
are graduate courses. After
successful completion of the fall
semester of year four (the first
professional-phase semester),
students will receive a Bachelor of
Science in Health Sciences and be
eligible to participate in the May
Commencement ceremony. Upon
completion of the full five-year
program, graduates will receive a
Master of Science in Physician
Assistant Studies, be eligible to
sit for the Physician Assistant
National Certifying Examination, and
be able to participate in the
Commencement ceremony. |
