Compassion, communication and care: Realizing new directions with Physician Assistant program
Physician assistants are an essential component to the delivery of quality care with good outcomes, meeting critical shortages of primary care providers in both rural and urban environments. North Central’s health sciences offerings are expanding again, with a Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies (MSPAS) program slated to begin with a cohort of 30 students in August 2021 (provided accreditation-provisional is earned). The program received preliminary approval from the Higher Learning Commission in March and the student application process opened April 30. Notification of accreditation status will occur in March 2021. “North Central’s PA program is one of the few community-based programs where a small class of 30 is nurtured in a relationship-based model,” said Marci J. Swede, dean of the School of Education and Health Sciences and professor of
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health sciences. “A graduate from North Central will be a compassionate healer, communicative leader, lifelong learner, and passionate advocate for their patients and their profession.”
WHY PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS? The MSPAS program gives students the opportunity to prepare for a satisfying career while responding to significant demand in the health care field. Employment for physician assistants is estimated to grow by 37 percent in the next 10 years, an increase of 39,600 jobs according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That compares very favorably with the expected growth of other healthcare careers in the next decade.
NORTH CENTRAL COLLEGE northcentralcollege.edu
The program requires two years to complete as opposed to as many as seven years for other medical degrees. “The leadership at North Central recognized an opportunity to build programs that provide healthcare solutions to societal problems,” Swede said. “This was an opportunity to grow an advanced clinical healthcare program that is in high demand.” Physician assistants work closely with doctors in both inpatient and outpatient settings. They are trained and called on to examine patients, order and interpret diagnostic studies, diagnose disease and provide evidence-based, safe pharmacologic, medical and surgical treatment.
HANDS-ON LEARNING The MSPAS program is designed to take 24 months, with a year of didactic instruction and another year of clinical work averaging 40 hours per week.
