Physician assistants (PAs) are health professionals credentialed to practice medicine under the supervision of a licensed physician. Within the physician/physician assistant relationship, PAs provide diagnostic and therapeutic patient care in virtually all medical specialties and settings. PAs' responsibilities include taking medical histories, performing physical examinations, ordering laboratory tests and diagnosing problems. They also develop and implement treatment plans under the supervision of a physician. Patient education and counseling are important aspects of a PA's function. PAs not only advise patients in preventative health care, but also aid in treatment and management of health problems. PAs practice in many areas, usually focusing in those areas that do not have enough physicians to meet community demands, for example: rural and inner-city urban areas.
950 North Washington Street
Alexandria, Virginia 22314-1552
Phone: 703-836-2272
Fax: 702-684-1024
E-mail: aapa@aapa.org
PA training programs are almost universal in requiring direct, hands-on work experience in patient care. Many even required paid experience. Examples of preferred work experience include: Emergency Medical Technician, Certified Nurse Assistant and Military Medic. PA training programs look for candidates who have directly cared for ill patients, thus voluntary experiences as a sports trainer or a hospital volunteer may be insufficient. If you are interested in pursuing this career, you may want to use the following steps as a guide:
- Contact schools of interest. Contacting approximately ten schools provides a good range of places and programs.
- After obtaining information about the various schools, you should choose the ones
that most interest you. Consider:
A. Accredited Programs (some are not). for a list of accredited programs.
B. Percentage of students that successfully passed the Board Examinations.
C. Program Policies, especially concerning out of state students. - After outlining the requirements for both school and experience, create a tentative schedule that allows you to maximize your semesters at ßÙßÇÂþ». PA Program Admission Committees are not concerned with your major, as long as you have fulfilled the prerequisites needed and have demonstrated both the ability and determination to complete your course work. Depending on the program, you may have to take the GRE.
- You will have to submit an application using the . In this application, you will submit a personal statement, GRE results, college transcript, achievements and, of course, volunteer work/experience.
The following is a list of courses that most schools require as prerequisites for their programs. However, it would be wise to of interest and confirm that you are in fact taking the proper courses.
Online courses: Some ​professional​ schools do not accept online science courses, especially those with online labs. It is the student's responsibility to check the requirements for each school to which they are applying.
Physician's Assistant Primary Course Requirements:
Subject |
Course Rubric & Number |
| Biology (1 year) | BIOL 113, BIOL 114, and BIOL 115* |
| Inorganic Chemistry (1 year) |
Option A: CHEM 104, 105, & 106* Option B CHEM 107-108 Option C: CHEM 111 and 341 You must choose among options A, B, and C. You may not switch between sequences. Be sure to check with your intended major to learn if there is a preferred sequence for that major. |
| Organic Chemistry (1 year) | CHEM 231, CHEM 332 & CHEM 335 (lab) |
| Human Anatomy & Physiology (1 year) | BIOL 251 & BIOL 347 |
| Mathematics and/or Statistics (1 semester) |
MATH 147 or PSYC 243 or BME 340 (only available to students in the Biomedical Engineering Program) |
*Notes:
- BIOL 115 or its FRI equivalent.
- CHEM 106 or its FRI equivalent.
Most schools now require:
Subject |
Course Rubric and Number |
| Psychology (1 semester) | Any psychology course |
| Microbiology (1 semester & lab) | BIOL 314 (lecture) & BIOL 421 (lab) - Offered in Fall or BIOL 319 (lecture) & BIOL 329 (lab) - Offered in Spring or BIOL 314 (lecture) - Offered in Fall & BIOL 329 (lab) - Offered in Spring or BIOL 319 & BIOL 421 |
| Genetics (1 semester) |
BCHM / BIOL 401 or BIOL 332 |
| Cell Biology (1 semester) |
BIOL 311 |
| Biochemistry (1 semester) |
BIOL 304 or BCHM/BIOL 403* |
| English (1 year) | Any two courses from the following departments: English (ENG), Rhetoric (RHET), Writing (WRIT), Creative Writing (CW) or Comparative Literature (COLI). |
Again, it would be in your best interest to look at specific schools and then take these secondary requirement courses accordingly.
PA education is similar to that of medical students and usually lasts from 24 to 27 months, consisting of classroom and laboratory instruction in basic medical and behavioral sciences followed by clinical rotations.
For more information you can check out the following websites: