DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT STUDIES

Chair: George L. White, Jr. (434-3641)
Medical Director: James H. Hunter, M.D.
Professor: White
Associate Professor: Henderson
Assistant Professors: Nenstiel, Vetrosky, Dixon

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 in a field other than Physician Assistant. Although the student's undergraduate major is not specified, certain prerequisites are required. The prerequisites are given below under "Prerequisite Requirements and Criteria for Admission".

Although the program is designed to prepare the student for Physician Assistant practice in a variety of clinical practice settings following graduation, the major aim of the program is to prepare primary care practitioners who will provide health care to rural and urban medically under-served areas.

Physician Assistants are highly skilled health practitioners who provide medical services traditionally performed only by physicians. Among the services provided by Physician Assistants are diagnostic and therapeutic procedures including taking medical histories, performing physical examinations, ordering and analyzing diagnostic studies such as laboratory tests, electrocardiograms and imaging studies, and performing therapeutic procedures such as suturing, removal of minor lesions and casting. The Physician Assistant develops and implements a treatment plan and makes appropriate decisions regarding referral and findings to the supervising physician and other health professionals in developing a patient treatment plan. Physician Assistants also prescribe medication.

Patient education and counseling are also important aspects of a Physician Assistant's daily activities. Physician Assistants advise patients concerning preventive health care and provide education concerning patient medical problems. Physician Assistants also counsel patients regarding the management of health risk behaviors.

To perform at this level of responsibility, the education of Physician Assistants is highly intensive and much of it is provided by physicians in order to assure that the patient-care functions provided by the Physician Assistant are equivalent in quality to those of the physician who delegates them.

The complete program consists of nine consecutive quarters (27 continuous months) of study and is divided into two components: The Preclinical Component and the Clinical Component. The Preclinical Component consists of five quarters (15 consecutive months) of study of basic and clinical medical sciences. The Clinical Component is 4 quarters (12 continuous months) in length and consists of clinical preceptorships in each of the major areas of medicine and surgery. During the clinical component, the student gains baseline medical knowledge and clinical skills which are needed for professional practice as a Physician Assistant. The entire curriculum is outlined below.

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, and thus 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.
2. Course work in science and mathematics including the following: at least 20 quarter hours of biological sciences, including general biology sequence with laboratories, microbiology, and anatomy and physiology; 10 quarter hours of general chemistry; 1 course in mathematics (college level algebra minimum) and 1 course in statistics. Extra points will be given to applicants who have completed courses in organic chemistry, medical microbiology, immunology, anatomy, medical physiology, genetics, biochemistry, physics, pathophysiology and medical terminology.
3. Course work in behavioral sciences to include at least 8 quarter hours of psychology and 8 quarter hours in other social sciences, and either 4 quarter hours in computer science or demonstrated proficiency.
4. Completion of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).
5. First preference will be given to residents of the State of Alabama. State residency is defined as "those students who qualify for in-state tuition".
6. Preference will be given to applicants with health care experience.
7. Two letters of reference (one from an M.D.) mailed directly to the Department of Physician Assistant Studies.
8. Interview: Following the initial review of applications, a limited number of applicants will be invited to campus for a personal interview after February 1. Performance in the interview will be considered in the admissions decision.

LENGTH OF STUDY
Twenty-seven consecutive months.

PROGRAM ENTRANCE DATE
Summer Quarter beginning in June of each year.

PROGRAM APPLICATION DATE
Program Application Date: January 15. The Completed Application, and all supporting documents (transcripts, reference letters, GRE scores) and a $75.00 application fee must be received by January 15. The application form and application instructions and detailed program information are available upon request by contacting: University of South Alabama, Department of Physician Assistant Studies, 1504 Springhill Ave, Suite 1504, Mobile, Alabama 36604-3273, Tel. (334)434-3641.

ACCREDITATION
The program has been granted provisional accreditation by the Accreditation Review Committee on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) and Committee on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) and upon accreditation of the program, graduates will be eligible to sit for the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) Examination. Certification is required by most State Boards of Medical Examiners to practice as a PA.

EXPENSES*
Special Lab Fee for Human Gross Anatomy $195.00 (one time charge)

*In addition to expenses associated with textbooks, food, 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 preceptorship year.

**The University reserves the right to change tuition and fees, as deemed necessary by the Board of Trustees, without prior notice.

REQUIREMENTS FOR DEGREE
The Physician Assistant program leading to the Master of Health Sciences degree requires 181 credit hours with a minimum of 9 quarters of study. Four of the nine quarters (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

Clinical Component
Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer Term

*Can choose two of the following: Orthopedics, Geriatrics, Pediatrics, ENT, Endocrinology, Radiology, Occupational Medicine.

** MUST BE IN AN UNDER-SERVED AREA.

DESCRIPTIONS OF ALL PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT STUDIES (PA) COURSES BEGIN ON PAGE 300.

College of Allied Health Professions