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 in Physician
Assistant Studies 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 19 (nineteen)
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/tech_standards.htm. Applicants may
have accommodations to meet these standards.
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 successfully 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.
| 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 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 | 19 | |
| Winter Intersession | Credits | |
| PAS 644 | The Clinical Patient Exam | 1 |
| PAS 646 | Law, Medicine and Ethics | 1 |
| PAS 648 | Healthcare Systems and Administration | 1 |
| PAS 704 | Internal Medicine 2: Endocrinology | 1 |
| Total Credits | 4 | |
| Spring Semester | Credits | |
| PAS 622 | Neuroanatomy | 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 | |
| Winter Intersession 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 |
|