The Department of Health Sciences offers a Masters in Physician Assistant Studies program. The program utilizes both didactic and clinical experiences, as set forth by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA), to prepare students to work as Physician Assistants in a variety of settings, but with a focus on primary care. Upon successful completion of the graduate program, graduates will have the knowledge and skills required to pass the Physician Assistant National Certification Exam (PANCE) and practice medicine as competent providers committed to evidence-based practice and lifelong learning.
There are two admission pathways: a traditional admittance and an accelerated admittance. The traditional pathway requires students have a Bachelor's degree upon matriculation, have completed all prerequisite courses with a "C" or better, and meet all acceptance requirements. The accelerated admittance pathway is for currently enrolled, full-time Concord University students who meet the admission requirements (described below). Students can apply for the accelerated pathway at any open application period during their undergraduate studies but must maintain certain academic standards once accepted to keep their seat in the program. For example, an interested student could apply in the Spring of their freshman year. The student would indicate which year they plan to matriculate. If accepted, the student must maintain an overall GPA of 3.2 and complete a specified number of shadowing and healthcare experience hours. Failure to meet the requirements would cause the student to lose their seat in the program.
The PA program is a full-time, 28-month program consisting of 115-credit hours. Classes matriculate each fall. The didactic phase of the program is four semesters, spanning 16 months. The didactic curriculum will provide students with courses in the basic sciences to provide a foundation for clinical medicine. Courses in clinical medicine cover all organ systems, and the curriculum will be integrated to cover the pathophysiology, diagnostic and clinical skills, and pharmacotherapy of disease states simultaneously. An emphasis on rural, primary care medicine will allow students to consider the challenges of access to care, the principles and practice of telehealth, and how preventative care and patient education can impact individuals, families, and populations. Students will be prepared to provide medical care to patients of varied backgrounds, with an understanding of how social and cultural factors can affect the provision of care.
Instruction and experience in interprofessional practice will be included in the didactic phase of the program to prepare students to work collaboratively with other healthcare professionals. PA students will have access to a state-of-the art simulation lab to learn and practice skills, both individually and collaboratively, prior to entering the clinical phase of the program.
The clinical phase of the program is three semesters, over 12 months, and includes clinical experiences in family medicine, emergency medicine, internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, women's health, and psychiatry and behavioral medicine. Students will have two elective rotations, which can occur in most specialties. One elective rotation can be completed at an established medical mission site (either national or international), providing medical care to underserved populations.
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