Archive for PA Programs
Physician Assistant Training – High School to PA in one place
Posted by: | CommentsAs I have been reading the information about the 149 ARC certified sites, I was surprised to find out that in addition to Detroit Mercy, there is a new trend in PA training. It is a 5 year program that begins with recruiting High School students.
I haven’t reviewed all 149 programs but as I find others accepting high school students into a pre-PA major I will list them here.
Those I know about are :
Univ of Detroit Mercy, Detroit, MI
Arcadia University in Eastern PA and Delaware.
Chatham University in Pittsburgh PA
DeSales University Center Valley PA
Duquesne University, Pittsburgh PA
Marywood University, Scranton PA
Pennsylvania College of Technology, Williamsport PA (this is the only program I found that offered a Bachelors Degree with PA Major to HS students)
Physician Assistant Program Prerequisites
Posted by: | CommentsWhat are the requirements to be admitted to a top 23 PA Program? They all want high (3.0+)grades in science, a bachelors degree, great scores on the GRE and many hours (up to 1000 hours) of direct patient care experience. I hope this video makes it easier for you to find information on the PA Program of your choice.
A TV Show About PAs?
Posted by: | Comments
Wingate University (located just outside of Charlotte, NC) will have its inaugural class of 20 students begin this August. Not only are they starting a new and very promising PA program, but they are also airing a television show that will seek to educate the public about the profession and make the profession more understandable to their local community. Please see the following article that was published by the American Academy of Physician Assistants last month. Also, look for a review about the Wingate University Physician Assistant Program coming up soon!
George Washington University PA Program
Posted by: | CommentsThe GW PA Program is located on 23rd street in Washington D.C. It began as an experiment with men trained as military medics and corpsman in 1969. By 1972 the University authorized the organization of a degree granting Physician Assistant Program and to date have graduated over 1200 physician assistants.
The George Washington U. program grants two degrees, a Master of Science in Health Science and a combined PA/Master of Public Health. The first degree is a 2 year program and the second is 3 years. At a cost of $12,855/semester you really have to want to know about public health to pay those prices for 6 semesters and two summers. The consolation is a degree from a really great university rated #4 by USNews.
What do you have to have to get in. Well, the GWU PA site has a really great PDF that spells it all out. If you are really interested in this site, I suggest you download it.
Admission requirements are processed through the Central Application Service for PA (CASPA). The candidate must have a bachelors degree and a GPA of 3.0 or better. They must have completed 2 semesters of biological sciences with Anatomy and Physiology recommended and any plant science course not recommended. Another 2 semesters of chemistry is required with Biochemistry strongly recommended. Two semesters of Psychology with one general and one abnormal psych recommended.
An applicant must take the GRE with in 5 years of application. Newer score is undoubtedly better than older. Six months of patient care experience is recommended and ONE YEAR is recommended.
If you are interested in the program or any program for that matter, our tips booklet recommends you visit it. You can call the GWU program at 202-994-7644 to arrange this. A website is also suggested but only www. appears on the PDF information sheet.
The University of Iowa PA Program
Posted by: | CommentsThe 2008 edition of the USNews graduate school rating edition gave the PA program at the University of Iowa a 4.3 out of 5. This rating brought it to the top of the list as the number one PA program. Duke rated 4.2 and Emory 4.1.
Iowa admits only 25 students each fall into it’s non-thesis masters level graduate course. They use the CASPA system for applications.
For the class admitted in 2007, the successful applicant averaged a cumulative G.P.A. of 3.56 on 145 semester hours of college credit, a science GPA of 3.54 on 72 semester hours, an average of 2,387 hours of health care and 1,623 hours of research experience, and the following GRE scores: verbal = 508, quantitative = 666, and written (analytical) = 4.6. The class average age was 25.9 years.
The Iowa program has 11 “technical” standards listed on the Program web site. This one was interesting to me because it would disqualify me from entry to the program:
Candidates must have sufficient use of the senses of vision, hearing and smell necessary to directly perform a physical examination. Candidates must be able to perform inspection, palpation, auscultation and percussion.
I don’t have a sense of smell.
The PA students are integrated into the regular medical school curriculum and take 60% of their didactic studies with Sophomore Medical students. I guess that is why the program only has 4 staff members and 3 admin employees.
I would like for any Iowa graduates to leave some comments here. The program is small, personable and appears to be quite intense. They are number one in their ability to use their money and facilities to effectively train PAs and USNews thinks in 2008, they were doing it best, if just a little better than Duke and Emory.
Emory University PA Program
Posted by: | CommentsEmory is a top-ranked and passionate PA program. The school’s credentials led me to apply and my experience interviewing led me to choose this program. From my interview experience, I found that they have a very personable Director of Admission (Terry Mize) and genuine, helpful, and dedicated students.
An important aspect to know and understand about Emory’s PA program is their mission: Read More→
Duke University PA Program
Posted by: | CommentsTo apply to the Duke PA Program you must use CASPA or Centralized Application Service. After you have finished that application and submitted it, Duke will send you an e-mail that gives you authorization to access the Duke PA Program supplemental application. In addition you must have 1000 hours of direct patient care experience. Duke is very specific about what activities are accepted as “direct patient care” so be sure to consult their website to know for certain that your experience will qualify. You will need three recommendations, one of which must come form someone who has seen you provide patient care.
Usually, you must complete CASPA application after May 1 and before mid-October the year before you would enter as a student. You have until mid-November to complete your supplemental application.
The class that entered Duke in 2007 were chosen from 570 applications and had the following group qualifications:
- Over-all GPA 3.1-3.5
- Natural Science GPA 3.0-3.5
- Total Natural Science Credits 42-68
- GRE General test scores – Verbal 460-570, Quantitative 550-670, Analytical Writing 4.0-5.0
- Months of full-time patient care experience 10-34
Check back regularly as we will have all the other programs here eventually and we hope to distribute podcasts of interviews with administrators from as many programs as possible. Seven States – Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Mississippi, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wyoming do not have PA training programs.
