The chances are that most of us typically receive significant amounts of care from a physician assistant (PA) during our visits to see the doctor. For many of us, especially if we are in one of the more rural areas of the country, a PA might provide us with all of our day to day healthcare needs. We can be confident about the level of care we will receive from PAs as they will have had extensive and comprehensive schooling and training in medicine and care, second only to physicians themselves, with whom they often work hand in hand. A physician assistant typically needs to have obtained a 2 year (plus) full-time postgraduate study master's degree from an accredited educational program, and all states require physician assistants to be licensed.
Like the pharmacist, a PA must be adept at communication with patients to explore the background on what is ailing them. In addition to the comprehensive medical knowledge and training that all PAs need, compassion and empathy are prerequisites. Like physicians, PAs need to be detail oriented and have investigative and problem-solving skills, as maladies often don't reveal themselves easily, and require questioning and deductive powers to be diagnosed properly.
Attaining a qualification from a good school is vital for a future physician assistant, and below are a number of good choices.
The Physician Assistant Program at The University of Toledo was the first of its kind in the state of Ohio. Founded in 1996, this program has been building leaders in healthcare since day one. The program is dedicated to both traditional lecture-based instruction and innovative educational styles including simulation, team-based learning and problem-based learning.
PA program learners have access to state-of-the-art resources, including 12 clinic rooms with standardized patient interactions, a cadaver lab where students perform full dissection, a dedicated medical library with online access and an academic enrichment center with individualized and peer mentoring. This broad selection of resources also offers students weekly interprofessional learning experiences; 11 different professional programs give learners opportunities to study medicine by interacting with one another in the three-story simulation center on the Health Science Campus. Throughout their studies, students will also have the opportunity to practice their skills outside the classroom, participating in two free health clinics in the greater Toledo community.
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Healthcare jobs are always in demand, and the physician assistant profession is one of the fastest growing and rewarding careers in the industry. The School of Health Sciences at Touro is a powerhouse in the education and training of skilled and dedicated physician assistants.
Their New York-based Physician Assistant Programs have campuses in Bay Shore, Long Island (with an extension campus at Nassau University Medical Center) and Manhattan. They are proud to achieve a 100% first time Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE) pass rate at both campuses during the 2019-2020 academic year.
Plus, the schools' location near some of the top medical centers in the country offers students an unsurpassed opportunity to have Supervised Clinical Practice Experiences (SCPES). The demand for physician assistants will continue to grow in the years ahead and a degree from the School of Health Sciences at Touro College helps students establish an exciting, challenging career. Graduates enjoy rewarding careers in various healthcare settings, where they deliver babies, assist in robotic surgery, treat cancer and so much more.
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The University of Kentucky has a broad range of resources centered on a single campus in the heart of the Bluegrass. Their wide array of programs allows them to excel in multidisciplinary studies and fosters an environment of cooperative engagement across all colleges, programs, and research endeavors. Because of the lives they touch and teach, they remain anchored in their mission to Kentucky– to educate, innovate, heal, and serve.
The mission of the UK College of Health Sciences is to help the people of the Commonwealth of Kentucky and beyond attain the highest level of health possible. They fulfill their mission through creative leadership and productivity in education, research, and service. CHS has a distinguished history of preparing students for successful careers in the health sciences. Their college, founded in 1966, was among the first of 13 charter schools for allied health and currently offers undergraduate and graduate degrees, as well as minor and certificate options, across nine health sciences disciplines. At the College of Health Sciences, they are dedicated to educating frontline entry-level practitioners for the allied health disciplines in their college, as well as educating the clinical, educational and research leaders of tomorrow.
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The Master of Science Physician Assistant (MSPA) program at CSUMB trains future health care leaders to be both highly-qualified and culturally-resonant medical providers who enhance the health and lives of people in underserved communities. Living their values of inclusion, cultural competence and compassion, their MSPA graduates not only care for the health of patients but the communities in which they serve.
CSUMB is a leader in innovation of instruction and embedded within their community. The first PA program in the CSU system, they feature an integrated curriculum that builds on foundational and functional clinical medicine. The design of their spiral curriculum prepares students for the best patient care experiences in their second year of clinical rotations.
Collaborating with local hospitals and clinics, CSUMB graduates gain valuable field experience during their studies that directly translate to the communities in which they will serve. The program features a unique, integrated, medical conversational Spanish course during the first year, preparing students to meet the needs of the underserved populations in the area.
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Housed in the College of Health Sciences, Education and Rehabilitation (CHER), the Physician Assistant (PA) Studies program at Salus University mirrors the school's mission to provide students with excellent clinical training, focused on evidence-based medicine theory and holistic patient care. Upon successful completion of the competitive, 25-month, full time program, students receive a Master of Medical Science degree (MMS).
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the PA profession ranks as one of the top 10 growing professions through 2030. Designed as a draw for prospective students seeking in-demand jobs such as the PA profession, the University recently unveiled a new 2,200-square-foot standardized patient simulation lab. The state-of-the-art facility includes high-tech collaborative learning tools, a mock hospital room and model patient examination rooms where students learn in a real healthcare setting. In addition, the new lab includes a conference room for post-simulation student debriefing, a simulated patient lounge and a video control room. Simulation lab training at Salus allows students to participate in both instruction and practice to improve clinical competence and ultimately patient care.
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