While previous healthcare experience is not required, the majority of applicants have obtained a year or more of direct patient care experience. In addition, job shadowing of a practicing physician assistant for a minimum of 50 hours is strongly recommended. PA shadowing information should be included on the CASPA application under Related Healthcare Experience. This program is available only to applicants who have already earned a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution in any field, and who have fulfilled the prerequisite course requirements. Prerequisites include the following: An earned bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university with an overall cumulative grade • point average (GPA) of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale; 250-500 hours of patient care experience (recommended); • Physician Assistant shadowing experience (recommended); • A minimum TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) score for all candidates for whom English is not • the primary language (see International Applicants in the Admission section for details); Ability to fulfill the technical standards for admission, promotion, and graduation; • Other requirements for international students as outlined in the Admission section • School of Physician Assistant Studies Policies and Professional Requirements (Manchester/Worcester) Students who are enrolled in the program must earn grades of C (2.0) or better in all courses and maintain an overall grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 to remain in good academic standing in the program. Students are expected to understand and adhere to the codes and standards of the profession and to exhibit professional behavior. Students are required to be in good academic standing to enter the clinical year. Students who receive below a C in a didactic course will be required to repeat the course before progressing to the next semester. This will result in a delay of one year to complete the program. Students must receive a 3.0 cumulative GPA in order to enter the clinical year. Such repetitions will lengthen the program beyond two years (please see Program Completion Policy). Failure to achieve a cumulative 3.0 GPA at the end of the first semester of the didactic year results in being placed on probation. If the student does not demonstrate improvement by the end of the second semester of the didactic year, the student may be dismissed. If the student does not achieve a cumulative GPA of 3.0 by the end of the didactic year, the student will be dismissed. Professional Responsibilities Physician Assistants (PAs) are skilled members of the healthcare team qualified by academic and clinical experience to provide a broad range of healthcare services under the supervision of a licensed physician. The healthcare services that PAs provide include performing appropriate medical interviews and physical examinations, identifying healthcare problems in need of evaluation and management, screening results of laboratory diagnostic studies, implementing treatment plans, counseling patients regarding illness and health-risk behaviors, monitoring responses to physiciandirected programs of therapy, and facilitating access to appropriate healthcare resources. These services may be provided to individuals of any age in those various settings considered part of the physician’s practice. Professional Credentials Over the past 30 years, several milestones within the profession have become markers by which the appropriately trained physician assistant is identified. These markers include graduation from an academic program accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, certification through examination by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA), and registration or licensure by state boards of medical examiners. Continued professional competence is evidenced by the completion of 100 hours of continuing medical education every two years and successful passage of a recertification examination as required by NCCPA. Program Completion Policy Candidates for the Master of Physician Assistant Studies (Accelerated MPAS) Program Manchester/Worcester must have completed all program requirements (didactic and clinical) within 39 months from the date of matriculation into the accelerated MPAS program. If there is failure to complete all program requirements within the allotted timeframe, the student is subject to dismissal from the program. Course Requirements The undergraduate educational requirements for admission to the MPAS program in Manchester/Worcester are listed in the Admission section of this catalog. Following are the course requirements for the PA program in Manchester/Worcester.
423 – May 15, 2023
