Master of Physician Assistant Studies

The LSU Health Shreveport Physician Assistant Program offers a Master of Physician Assistant Studies degree which consists of a continuous 27-month academic and clinical experience, which begins during the summer semester. The Program’s objective is to prepare well-educated primary care PAs competent in a wide range of medical skills with qualifications to provide comprehensive health care under the supervision of a physician. Upon graduation, graduates are eligible to be licensed in the state of Louisiana as a PA by the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners and are eligible to take the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination.

What is a PA?

The physician assistants, also known as PAs, are health care professionals who are academically and clinically prepared to provide health and medical services with and under the supervision of a doctor of medicine. The functions of the physician assistant include performing diagnostic, therapeutic, preventive and health maintenance services in any setting in which the physician renders care, in order to allow more effective and focused application of the physician’s particular knowledge and skills.

Career & Practice Settings

Physician assistants work in physicians’ offices, hospitals, outpatient clinics, and other healthcare settings. 1. Baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited

U.S. college or university by the first day of class. 2. Minimum 3.0 cumulative undergraduate GPA (4.0 scale) AND minimum 3.0 science GPA (4.0 scale). 3. Minimum Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores from within the last five years sent to GRE DI code 0423: • Quantitative-145 • Verbal-143 • Analytic writing-3.0 4. Grade of “C” or better in required pre-requisite courses: • Anatomy (4 hours) – Human or Comparative with a lab (or part I of A&P with lab only if A&P II is also taken) • Physiology (3 hours) – General or Human (or part II of A&P II with lab only if A&P I is also taken) • Microbiology (4 hours) – Sophomore level or higher (200/2000 level) with a lab • Chemistry (8 hours) – General, Inorganic, or Organic with labs • Biology electives (8 hours) – Junior level or higher (300/400 or 3000/4000 level) • Statistics (3 hours) – BIO, PSYC, MATH, or BUSN course number • Medical Terminology (2 hours required, 3 hours preferred) 5. Minimum 80 hours of direct patient contact experience. Volunteer, observation, or work in a human patient care environment with direct patient contact.

FACTS QUICK

PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS

2020 MEDIAN PAY $115,390 per year | $55.48 per hour NUMBER OF JOBS, 2019 125,500 JOB OUTLOOK, 2019-29 31% (Much faster than average)

WEBSITE: WWW.LSUHS.EDU/PA

PROGRAM LENGTH: 27 months (seven semesters) APPLICATION METHOD: Central Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA) CLASS SIZE: 40 students accepted per year APPLICATION DEADLINE: October 1 CLASSES BEGIN: May (summer semester)

Admission Requirements

CONTACT Admissions and Records Office