PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT STUDIES
Program Requirements
Related Links:
La Crosse Medical Health
Science Consortium
Physician assistants (PAs) are health
professionals licensed to practice medicine with the supervision
of a physician. PAs work in a variety of practice settings
including hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, and research
centers. PAs are qualified to take medical histories, examine
patients, order and administer diagnostic tests, make diagnoses,
treat illnesses, and assist in surgery. The care they provide
might otherwise be provided by physicians. PAs can provide care
as generalists in primary care situations or in subspecialty
areas of medicine. Common specialties in which PAs practice
include family practice, internal medicine, obstetrics and
gynecology, emergency medicine, orthopedics, surgery, and
pediatrics.
The PA program represents a partnership of
UW-L, the Gundersen Lutheran Medical Foundation of La Crosse and
the Mayo Foundation in
Upon completion of all degree requirements,
students are awarded a Master of Science degree from UW-L and a
certificate of completion from the program’s institutional
partnership. The program is accredited by the Accreditation
Review Commission on education for the Physician Assistant, Inc.
(ARC-PA). To be licensed for practice, graduates must pass the
Physician Assistant National Certification Exam (PANCE)
administered by the National Commission on Certification of
Physician Assistants (NCCPA).
Admission
The rigor and intensity of the program and the level of
skills and responsibility necessary for practice as a physician
assistant require the program to accept candidates who have
demonstrated a strong academic background along with excellent
interpersonal skills and maturity. Prior health care experience
is expected as an indicator of a career commitment suitable to
clinical practice. The program’s admission process considers
each applicant’s strengths and selects for admission those best
qualified to meet the program’s mission. Application to the
program is very competitive with a class of 12 students accepted
annually.
Application Process
To be considered for admission applicants must have all of
the following completed:
1. An application with the Central Application Service for
Physician Assistants (CASPA) including three letters of
reference.
CASPA is a national application service that collects and
verifies application materials and calculates various GPAs
before
forwarding the applicants file to the programs selected by
the applicant. For details see
http://secure.caspaonline.org/
2. A UW-L - Gundersen - Mayo PA Program Supplemental Application
3. The Graduate Record Exam (GRE) with scores forwarded to UW-L
and the PA program
4. Additional
requirements for international applicants can be found at
www.uwlax.edu/pastudies/admissions/international_applicants/.htm
The program’s admission committee selects
candidates for interview. Following interviews, offers of
admission are made to selected outstanding candidates.
Once offered admission to the program, candidates must
make application for graduate admission to UW-L.
Students are admitted to the program as full-time
students.
Selection Factors
The selection factors for the MS PAS include the following:
academic preparation; motivation, maturity, ability to work with
people, and suitability for clinical practice; healthcare and
other work experience; knowledge of the PA profession and the
profession’s role in the healthcare system; background
predictive of potential for future practice in the service areas
of the program’s partner institutions; letters of
recommendation; and personal and group interviews.
Prerequisite Requirements
Degree: An
earned bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution.
Academic Aptitude: A
minimum cumulative GPA on all post-high school courses of 3.00
calculated on a 4-point scale.
A minimum science (as defined by CASPA ) GPA of 3.00.
Submission of Graduate Record Exam scores is required.
GRE scores are used as another measure of academic
aptitude along with GPA.
Thus, there is no minimum required score.
Course prerequisites (Course numbers shown
in parentheses are UW-L course numbers)
Biology: At least 14 semester hours of biology in the following
areas including at least two lab courses
Anatomy and Physiology: 1 semester of human anatomy AND 1
semester of human physiology; OR a 2- semester sequence of
combined human anatomy (BIO 312 & 313) which must be at the
200/sophomore level or above.
Though vertebrate and mammalian anatomy and physiology
are acceptable, human anatomy and physiology is strongly
preferred. (Note:
BIO 103 or 105, and CHM 103 are prerequisites for BIO
312.) Microbiology: 1 semester of microbiology (MIC 230) at the
200/sophomore level or above (Note:
BIO 103 or 105, and CHM 103 are prerequisites for MIC
230.)
Health related upper division biological
science: 1 semester
of any of the following at the 300/junior level or above:
genetics (BIO 306 or 466), immunology (MIC 406),
vertebrate/mammalian embryology (BIO 408), endocrinology (BIO
424), histology, pathophysiology (BIO 443), neuroscience (BIO
465), parasitology (BIO 406), mycology (BIO 413), or biology of
cancer (BIO 432).
Chemistry:
A minimum of 11 semester hours of chemistry including the
following courses, at least two of which must include a
laboratory:
General Chemistry:
1 semester of general or introductory chemistry (CHM 103
or 104).
Note: both CHM 103
and 104 are required to take CHM 300 or 303.)
Organic Chemistry: 1
semester of organic chemistry (CHM 300 or 303 and 304) at the
200/sophomore level or above
Biochemistry: 1
semester of biochemistry (CHM 325 or 417 and 418) at the
300/junior level or above. Molecular (BIO 435) or cellular
biology (BIO 315) at the 300 level or above is an acceptable
alternative.
Mathematics: A
minimum of two semesters of mathematics including:
Pre-calculus/Calculus:
1 semester of college algebra with trigonometry or
pre-calculus (MTH 151) or calculus (MTH 207)
Statistics:
1 semester of statistics (MTH 145 or 305)
Psychology: A
minimum of one semester of general, introductory, developmental
or abnormal psychology (PSY 100, 210, 212, 304, 310, 311, or
312)
Health Care Experience:
Prior direct patient care health experience is expected.
Such experience provides evidence of a career commitment
to healthcare as a PA.
In the program’s competitive admission process, the
length and depth of healthcare experience is a selection factor.
Technical Standards of Performance:
Applicants must also meet the program’s technical
standards of performance in the areas of observation,
communication, motor function, intellectual/conceptual,
,integrative and quantitative ability, and behavioral and social
attributes. These
standards may be found on the program’s Web site at
www.uwlax.edu/pastudies/techstandards
Special consideration:
Applicants lacking no more than 2 of the 10 prerequisite
courses, or having a cumulative or science GPA of less than 3.0
may request special consideration by justifying their
consideration despite not meeting that prerequisite requirement.
To receive this consideration, the applicant must have at
least 3 years of full-time experience in healthcare. A PA
Program Committee reviews the requests for special
consideration.
Curriculum
The PA Program curriculum includes a total of 108 required
credits including 58 credits of pre-clinical year courses, 44
credits of clinical rotations and 6 credits of Capstone Seminar
in the clinical year.
Pre-clinical year courses are only offered once a year
and are taken as a cohort.
The clinical year curriculum is only offered on a
full-time basis with students in clinical sites 40+ hours per
week. Thus, the
entire curriculum is considered a full-time curriculum.
The pre-clinical year curriculum must be completed before
a student can advance to the clinical year.
Students must then complete clinical rotations including
all of the required rotations, PAS 720 - 732, at least two of
the selective rotations, PAS 740 - 746, and additional electives
to have a total of 44 credits of clinical rotations. The
capstone seminar series must be completed totaling 6 credits.
| Course Schedule by semester Pre-clinical Year Summer Term |
Credits |
|
| PAS 511 | Gross Anatomy | 6 |
| PAS 624 | Medical Biochemistry | 2 |
| PAS 626 | Medical Physiology | 4 |
| PAS 640 | Introduction to the Physician Assistant Profession | 2 |
| Total Credits | 14 | |
| Fall Semester | Credits | |
| PAS 622 | Neuroanatomy | 1 |
| PAS 628 | Clinical Infectious Disease | 2 |
| PAS 630 | Medical Pharmacology | 4 |
| PAS 642 | Medical History and Physical Exam | 5 |
| PAS 654 | Clinical Epidemiology | 2 |
| PAS 702 | General Pathology and Internal Medicine 1: Cardiology, Pulmonology,
Hematology,Gastroenterology, Allergy and Dermatology |
6 |
| Total Credits | 20 | |
| J Term | Credits | |
| PAS 644 | The Clinical Patient Exam | 1 |
| PAS 646 | Law, Medicine and Ethics | 1 |
| PAS 704 | Internal Medicine 2: Endocrinology | 1 |
| Total Credits | 3 | |
| Spring Semester | Credits | |
| PAS 648 | Healthcare Systems and Administration | 1 |
| PAS 650 | Clinical Diagnosis and Reasoning | 6 |
| PAS 706 | Obstetrics, Gynecology and Pediatrics | 3 |
| PAS 708 | Surgical Medicine: Anesthesia, General Surgery, Otorhinolaryngology, Ophthalmology,Orthopedic Surgery, and Urology/Renal | 6 |
| PAS 710 | Internal Medicine 3: Oncology, Rheumatology, Neurology, Psychiatry | 3 |
| Total Credits | 19 | |
| Clinical Year Summer Terms |
Credits |
|
| PAS 652 | Clinical Procedures | 2 |
| PAS 720-750 | Clinical Rotations, three 4-week rotations scheduled individually by student | 12 |
| PAS 790 | Capstone Seminar I | 2 |
| Total Credits | 16 | |
| Fall Semester | Credits | |
| PAS 720-750 | Clinical Rotations, four 4-week rotations scheduled individually by student | 16 |
| PAS 792 | Capstone Seminar II | 2 |
| Total Credits | 18 | |
| J Term and Spring Semester | Credits | |
| PAS 720-750 | Clinical Rotations, four 4-week rotations scheduled individually by student | 16 |
| PAS 794 | Capstone Seminar III | 2 |
| Total Credits | 18 | |
| Total credits required for program | 108 |
|