| DEPARTMENT
OF PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT STUDIES |
| |
| Chair: Richard O.
Nenstiel (251) 434-3641 |
| Medical Director:
Richard H. Esham |
| Associate Professor:
Henderson |
| Assistant Professors:
Nenstiel, Vetrosky, Dixon-Works |
| Instructor: Vrettos |
| |
Department
of Physician Assistant Studies web site
http://www.southalabama.edu/alliedhealth/pa/ |
| |
| PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT
PROGRAM |
| MASTER OF HEALTH
SCIENCE DEGREE |
| The Physician
Assistant Program serves as an entry into the
profession and is designed for the student who
holds a baccalaureate degree. Although the student's
undergraduate major is not specified, certain
prerequisites are required. These prerequisites
are delineated under the section
"Prerequisite Requirements and Criteria for
Admission." |
| The program
is designed to prepare the student for Physician
Assistant practice in a variety of clinical practice
settings following graduation.
The focus
of the program is to prepare primary care practitioners
who will provide health care to rural and urban
medically underserved areas. |
| Physician assistants
are highly skilled practitioners who work under
the general supervision of a physician. Physicians
play a major role in the teaching program in order
to assure that the patient-care provided by physician
assistants is equivalent in quality to
that of the physician.
Physician assistants
provide many medical services traditionally performed
only by physicians. The services provided by physician
assistants are both diagnostic and therapeutic.
Diagnostic procedures can include taking medical
histories, performing physical examinations, ordering
and analyzing diagnostic studies such as laboratory
tests, electrocardiograms and imaging studies.
Therapeutic procedures such as suturing, removal
of minor lesions and casting are also part of
the services provided by physician
assistants. Once diagnostic procedures
are completed, the physician
assistant reports pertinent findings to
the supervising physician and develops a diagnosis.
A treatment plan is implemented and appropriate
referrals are made, if necessary, to other health
professionals. Physician assistants
are also able to prescribe medication in most states. |
| Patient education
and counseling are important aspects of a physician
assistant's daily activities. Physician
assistants educate
and advise patients concerning disease prevention,
health promotion, and help direct patients toward
appropriate psychological and social resources. |
| The complete
program consists of seven consecutive semesters
(27 continuous months) of study and is divided
into two components: The Preclinical Component
and the Clinical Component. The Preclinical
Component consists of four semesters (15
consecutive months) of basic and clinical medical
sciences. The Clinical
Component is three semesters (12 continuous
months) in length and consists of clinical rotations
in each of the major areas of medicine and surgery.
During the clinical component, the student increases
medical knowledge and refines clinical skills
which are needed for professional practice as
a physician assistant.
The entire curriculum is outlined as follows. |
| In addition to the academic standards of the Graduate School, any grade of D or lower will result in academic dismissal from the Department of Physician Assistant Studies. |
| |
| PREREQUISITE
REQUIREMENTS AND CRITERIA FOR ADMISSION |
| Listed below
are minimum criteria including course prerequisites
necessary to be considered for admission to the
Physician Assistant Program. The Department of
Physician Assistant Studies and the Office of
Academic Advising can address questions concerning
these prerequisites. The selection of students
for entry into the program is competitive. Successful
applicants will generally exceed the minimum criteria
listed below for admission. |
| |
| The following
are minimum criteria for admission: |
| 1. |
Completion of a Baccalaureate degree with a minimum
cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale from a regionally
accredited institution prior to the starting date
of the program. Provisional
admission may be offered to selected students
who do not meet this criterion. |
| 2. |
Course work with a minimum
grade of "C" in science and mathematics
including the following: one course each in general biology, anatomy, microbiology, and physiology; two courses in general chemistry;
one course in mathematics (college level algebra
minimum); one course in
psychology and
one course in statistics. Extra points will be
given to applicants who have completed any of
the following courses with a minimum grade of
"C": organic chemistry, immunology,
genetics, biochemistry, physics, pathophysiology,
pharmacology, and medical terminology. |
| 3.
|
Completion of the Graduate
Record Examination (GRE) within the last 5 years.
A minimum score of 900 on the combined Verbal
and Quantitative portions is required. Official
scores must be submitted directly to the University
before the application deadline. Students should
plan to take the GRE no later than mid-October
to ensure that official scores are received by
the November 15th deadline. |
| 4. |
At least one reference must be from a Medical Doctor (MD), Doctor of Osteopathy (DO), or Physician Assistant (PA). |
| 5. |
Interview: Following the
initial review of applications, a limited number
of applicants will be invited for a personal interview.
Verbal and written communication skills and previous
healthcare experience will be assessed during
the interview. The interview score is an important
component for determining admission to the program. |
| 6. |
Although out-of-state applicants
are encouraged to apply, preference is granted
to residents of Alabama
as well as those in our Service Area. Residents
of Escambia and Santa Rosa counties in Florida, and George, Green, Harrison, Jackson, Perry and
Stone counties in Mississippi live within the
50-mile Service Area and
are considered in-state.
|
| |
| LENGTH OF
STUDY |
|
Twenty-seven consecutive months.
|
| |
| PROGRAM ENTRANCE
DATE |
| Late May of each
year. |
| |
| PROGRAM APPLICATION
DATE |
| The application
is a two-step process. The first step is to complete
the online application via the Central Application
Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA) at www.caspaonline.org.
The deadline for applying through CASPA is November
15. If you do not have Internet capability, you
may request a paper CASPA application at (240) 497-1895. The second step is to submit the
supplemental application directly to the USA PA
Program. The deadline for submission
of all application materials is November 15.
Timely and complete
submission of all required materials is the applicant's
responsibility. The supplemental application,
along with other detailed information is available
by visiting our web site at http://www.southalabama.edu/alliedhealth/pa. Applicants with any
transcripts from non-U.S. institutions will be
required to complete an international student
application through the Office of International
Admissions, (251) 460-6050, if accepted into the program. |
| |
| ACCREDITATION |
| The program
has been granted accreditation by the Accreditation
Review Commission on Education for the Physician
Assistant, Inc. (ARC-PA). Graduates are eligible
to sit for the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination (PANCE). Certification
is required by most State Boards of Medical Examiners
to practice as a PA. |
| |
| REQUIREMENTS
FOR DEGREE |
|
The Physician Assistant Program
leading to the Master of Health Science degree
requires 121 semester credit hours with a minimum
of seven semesters of study. Three of the seven
semesters (12 consecutive months) are spent
in full-time preceptorships in clinical settings.
Program requirements and course sequence
are listed below. |
| |
| PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
AND COURSE SEQUENCE |
| Preclinical
Component |
| Summer |
|
Fall |
|
| PA
510 |
8
|
|
PA
520 |
8
|
|
| PA
511 |
4
|
|
PA
521 |
4
|
|
| PA
512 |
4
|
|
PA
522 |
2
|
|
| |
16
|
|
PA
523 |
4
|
|
| |
|
|
18
|
|
| |
| Spring |
|
Summer |
|
| PA
530 |
8
|
|
PA 540 |
8
|
|
| PA
531 |
4
|
|
PA 541 |
4
|
|
| PA
532 |
6
|
|
PA 542 |
4
|
|
| |
18
|
|
|
16
|
|
| |
| Clinical
Component |
| Fall,
Spring and Summer |
| PA 550 |
(8 wks) |
8
|
|
PA 560 |
(8 wks) |
8
|
|
| PA 570 |
(8 wks) |
8
|
|
PA 580 |
(4 wks) |
4
|
|
| PA 590 |
(4 wks) |
4
|
|
PA 591 |
(4 wks) |
4
|
|
| PA 592 |
(4 wks) |
4
|
|
PA 593 |
(4 wks) |
8
|
|
| PA 594 |
|
3
|
|
PA 595 |
|
2
|
|
| |
|
27
|
|
|
|
26
|
|
| At
least 16 weeks of the clinical rotations
must serve rural/urban underserved
populations. |
|
|
| |
| EXPENSES |
| Lab Fee for
Human Gross Anatomy: $275.00 (one time charge). |
| In addition
to expenses associated with textbooks, food, health
insurance and lodging, students will be
required to purchase their own laboratory coats,
stethoscope, otoscope, ophthalmoscope, soft reflex
hammer, and tuning fork. Also, students should
anticipate extra expenses, particularly related
to housing and transportation, during the clinical
year. |
| The University
reserves the right to change tuition and fees,
as deemed necessary by the Board of Trustees,
without prior notice. |
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