About the PA Program

MISSION STATEMENT

The Physician Assistant Program at Lincoln Memorial University-DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine recruits, educates and mentors a diverse group of students to become physician assistants providing quality health care.

• Emphasizes primary care and preventive medicine and seeks to interest students in providing care to the medically underserved population within the Appalachian Region and beyond;

• Uses didactic and clinical training and promotes physician/PA team care;

• Fosters an appreciation for research, leadership and flexibility in meeting the changing needs of the health care climate;

• Empowers faculty and students to be advocates for the physician assistant profession for the delivery of primary health care.

PA PROGRAM GOALS

To provide an academic and clinical training experience that will prepare the culturally competent PA students to function as a nationally certified PA in a reliable and competent fashion by:

1. Teaching fundamentals of biomedical and basic sciences, clinical medicine, health policy and technical skills needed to function as highly competent PA's, with an emphasis on primary care practice.
2. Providing training and experiences that enable students to perform the duties and functions of a PA in diverse practice settings, incorporating evidence-based medicine in clinical decision making and applying medical informatics and technology in multiple health care settings.
3. Providing basic foundations skills in scholarly inquiry, medical or other literature analysis, medical writing and professional presentation as an extension of didactic and clinical training.
4. Providing students with the opportunity to care for diverse patients, families and populations in outpatient and inpatient settings with compassion, empathy and tact in a variety of settings, with a supervising physicians and PAs.
5. Integration of basic aspects of professionalism, ethics and other attributes required to establish and maintain appropriate collaborative relationships with patients, families, colleagues and the community at large.
6. Providing medical services to underserved persons, including rural, minority and geriatric groups, thereby developing an awareness of social and professional responsibility.
7. Providing an understanding of the philosophy of the osteopathic approach to care of the whole person, and emphasis on the aspects of health care that include disease prevention and health maintenance, and an appreciation of the role of rehabilitation care in diagnosis and disease management.

LMU-DCOM PA Program Brochure (pdf)

What is a PA?

Why Choose the LMU-DCOM PA Program?

Meet the LMU-DCOM PA Program Director

Frequently Asked Questions

Non-Discrimination Policy

In support of the Mission Statement and the principles on which it is based, Lincoln Memorial University is committed to equal opportunity for all students, staff and faculty and to nondiscrimination in the recruitment, admission and retention of students and the recruitment, hiring, promotion and retention of faculty and staff.

Lincoln Memorial University reaffirms its commitment to personnel and educational policies that comply with the requirement applicable to equal opportunity/affirmative action laws, directives, executive orders and regulations to the effect that no person at Lincoln Memorial University shall, on the basis of age, color, creed, disability, ethnic/national origin, gender, military status, pregnancy, race, religion, sexual orientation or any other class protected by applicable law, be excluded from participating in, or be denied benefits of, any employment or educational opportunity.

Dr. Michelle Heinan, PAC, DFAAPA
Director, Physician Assistant Program
800-325-0900, ext. 6669 (toll-free)
423-869-6669 (direct)
PAAdmissions@lmunet.edu

The LMU-DCOM Physician Assistant Program is applying for provisional accreditation from the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc. (ARC-PA). Accreditation is anticipated to be granted in March, 2009. Provisional accreditation is required prior to starting the program in order for graduates to be able to sit for the national certification examination for physician assistants, a credential required for state licensure. Should the program not receive provisional accreditation, all deposits will be returned to candidates. Information on accreditation is available at www.arc-pa.org.