Becoming a Physician Assistant
The LMU-DCOM Physician Assistant (PA) Program gives students a great experience while preparing them to enter the health care workforce. The program is located in the DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine which is a state-of-the-art facility with a faculty that has had many years of experience as clinicians and educators. The Masters of Medical Science in Physician Assistant Studies is awarded upon successful completion of the program.
Physician Assistant Education
Medical school faculty members teach many of the PA Program courses and the PA students have full use of the building's high quality learning labs. PA students at LMU-DCOM study cadaveric anatomy on-site in the Anatomy Lab, which includes camera projection of dissections. They engage in medical scenario simulations in the building's Simulation Lab, which includes a simulated operating room, simulated emergency room, simulated OB/GYN birthing suite and simulated intensive care rooms. Simulations are performed with computerized mannequin patients, including SimMan 3G, which can present with any medical symptom and respond to medical treatment. All PA Program classes and labs are digitally recorded and archived for students' use. The PA Program curriculum is paperless, with all PA students being issued tablet PCs upon matriculation. Curricular materials are loaded directly onto the tablets or uploaded by the students from LMU's online e-learning portal.
Physician Assistant Requirements
PA Program admission requirements include a bachelor's degree and prerequisite courses. The PA program also interviews qualified candidates for a seat in the program that begins once a year in May. It is also essential that applicants have cumulative and science GPAs that exceed the requirements for the program to be competitive. The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is also required when making application to the program as well as three letters of reference. You might ask which of the factors weighs more heavily in the admissions process. We look at all the information provided to us and weigh it equally.
The LMU-DCOM Physician Assistant Program has received provisional accreditation from the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc. (ARC-PA) which allows graduates to sit for the Physician Assistant National Certification Examination (PANCE) upon graduation.
Contact our admissions coordinator to answer any questions you may have or visit our website to find out how to apply to a profession that is ranked the 2nd Best Job in America by Money Magazine in 2009.
LMU-DCOM PA Admissions Office
800-325-0900, ext. 6669 (toll-free)
423-869-6669 (direct)
PAAdmissions@lmunet.edu
