Are you a student, who desires to become a Physician Assistant? If yes, It is important you choose from the available options of the best Physician Assistant Private Schools In the World.
These institutions are accredited and located in serene environments that enable smooth didactic practices and research. To get started on a good note, we will help you identify the best programs you should apply to.
In this article, you’ll access a list of the best physician assistant private schools in the world and their important admissions data.
Each program, however, has varying admissions requirements, duration, and curricula. You can select the option that best suits your career aspirations.
Table of contents
- Who Is A Physician Assistant(PA)?
- What Are The Duties Of A Physician Assistant (PA)?
- What Requirements Do You Need For PA School?
- How Long Does It Take To Complete A PA Program?
- Private Schools that offer the Best Physician Assistant – PA Programs in the World
- 1. Midwestern University – Glendale
- 2. Harding University, Searcy
- 3. Marshall B. Ketchum University, Fullerton
- 4. Samuel Merritt University, Oakland
- 5. Stanford University, Stanford
- 6. Touro University, Vallejo
- 7. University of Southern California, Los Angeles
- 8. Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona
- 9. University of Bridgeport, Bridgeport
- 10. Chatham University, Pittsburgh
- FAQs:
- Conclusion
- References
- Recommendation:
Who Is A Physician Assistant(PA)?
A Physician Assistant otherwise known as PA is a trained mid-level healthcare provider who works under the supervision of a licensed medical doctor.
In other words, the term Physician Assistant can be defined explicitly as a mid-level practitioner who is able to practice medicine under the supervision of a licensed physician.
Usually, the PA does not need to perform his duties only when the supervising physician is around provided he has been well trained and knows how to discharge his duties appropriately.
However, there needs to be a consistent method of contact between the supervising physician and the PA at all times.
Furthermore, The physician assistant came about in the 1960s as a response to the need for more clinicians and better access to health care.
The first PA program was developed by Dr. Eugene Stead, chairman of the Department of Medicine at Duke University, to train PAs for rural areas with dwindling numbers of physicians and nurses.
Also, PA training programs are accredited by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants.
What Are The Duties Of A Physician Assistant (PA)?
The duties of a Physician Assistant are described according to what specialty they want to focus on or what specialty their supervising physician is focused on.
The duties of a physician assistant PA include the following:
- PAs takes or review patients’ medical histories
- They examine patients
- A PA order and interpret diagnostic tests, such as x rays or blood tests
- Physician assistants diagnose a patient’s injury or illness
- Also, they give treatment, such as setting broken bones and immunizing patients
- They educate and counsels patients and their families—for example, answering questions about how to care for a child with asthma
- He/She prescribes medicine
- A physician assistant assesses and record a patient’s progress
- PAs research the latest treatments to ensure the quality of patient care
- In addition, they conduct or participate in outreach programs, talking to groups about managing diseases, and promoting wellness.
What Requirements Do You Need For PA School?
To be considered for admission into any PA program, it is important that you meet these very important requirements coming in the following lines.
The first stage to becoming a physician assistant is the addition of a high school certificate with a strong foundation in sciences like; biology, chemistry, physics, English, etc.
Also, this degree requirement is one of the prerequisites for gaining admission into an accredited PA school. Some schools require a GRE and GPA but some do not really consider it.
Furthermore, in your walk to become a physician assistant, you must complete an ARC-PA accredited master’s program. This is one of the requirements you must meet to have a swell time as a physician assistant.
After completing a PA program, you’ll take the PANCE to earn certification as a physician assistant, then seek licensure from your state in order to begin practising.
How Long Does It Take To Complete A PA Program?
To become a certified physician assistant, one needs to complete something around 7 – 8 years of training. The 7 – 8years here are spent in learning various skills that are required to fully become a PA.
Firstly, one must earn a bachelor’s degree, which takes roughly four years to complete. This means that you must have also completed your high school education with relatively good grades.
The bachelor’s degree which you must have could be in any course at all provided it is related to the medical profession.
Acquiring a bachelor’s degree alone does not qualify you to become a Physician Assistant. You’ll need to get a health training which will further widen your knowledge in health care.
The health care training could be in the area of paramedics or any other medical-related course. Usually, this training takes about three years to complete.
After you’ve completed the health care training, the next thing will be to acquire a master’s degree. The master’s program does not take so much time to complete. On average, it will cost you like two years to complete a master’s degree program which leads to a career as a Physician Assistant.
Then the next stage is to sit for the Accreditation test. Only those who graduate from the ARC-PA program (the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant) can qualify to write this test.
In addition, a person who has completed all the difficulties and has been licensed to practice as a physician assistant will still need to take council exams periodically to maintain their licensure.
Private Schools that offer the Best Physician Assistant – PA Programs in the World
Here is a list of the Best & Accredited Private Physician Assistant PA Schools in the World:
- Midwestern University – Glendale
- Harding University, Searcy
- Marshall B. Ketchum University, Fullerton
- Samuel Merritt University, Oakland
- Stanford University, Stanford
- Touro University, Vallejo
- University of Southern California, Los Angeles
- Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona
- University of Bridgeport, Bridgeport
- Chatham University, Pittsburg
1. Midwestern University – Glendale
Founded in 1900 as the American College of Osteopathic Medicine and Surgery, the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine is the fourth-oldest medical school currently active in the state of Illinois. Over the years, the university expanded, adding additional degrees and programs; in 1993, the school united these programs under the name Midwestern University.
The Midwestern University, Glendale is a private graduate medical and professional school with the main campus in Downers Grove, Illinois, and an additional campus in Glendale, Arizona.
Midwestern University offers degrees in osteopathic medicine, podiatry, dental medicine, optometry, nurse anesthesia, clinical psychology, physician assistant studies, physical therapy, pharmacy, occupational therapy, speech-language pathology, biomedical sciences, and veterinary medicine. Midwestern University – Glendale is one of the best Physician Assistant Private Schools In the World.
2. Harding University, Searcy
Harding University is a private institution that was founded in 1924. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 3,974, its setting is suburban, and the campus size is 350 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Harding University’s ranking in the 2024 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities #240. Its tuition and fees are $20,530.
Harding College was also founded in Morrilton, Arkansas, in April 1924 after the merging of two separate colleges: Arkansas Christian College of Morrilton, Arkansas, and Harper College of Harper, Kansas.
3. Marshall B. Ketchum University, Fullerton
Marshall B. Ketchum University is a private university focused on graduate programs in healthcare and located in Fullerton, California. MBKU expanded from the Southern California College of Optometry which was founded in 1904. The university was officially established as a multidisciplinary university with the addition of the School of PA Studies in 2011 and the College of Pharmacy in 2013.
The university’s clinical and teaching facility is known as Ketchum Health. The facility provides patient care for optometry at the University Eye Center in Anaheim and Los Angeles. It also provides patient care and internal medicine in Family Medicine in Anaheim.
4. Samuel Merritt University, Oakland
Samuel Merritt University was founded in 1909 through the legacy of Dr. Samuel Merritt. Samuel Merritt University (SMU) is a private university focused on health sciences and located on the Summit campus of the Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Oakland, California. It is a Sutter Health Network and Alta Bates Summit Medical Center affiliate.
It is the only provider of physical therapists, occupational therapists, and physician assistants and is the largest source of nurses in the greater East Bay. Formerly known as Samuel Merritt College, it was founded in 1909 as a hospital school of nursing. Samuel Merritt University is also one of the best Physician Assistant Private Schools In the World.
5. Stanford University, Stanford
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The university was founded in 1885 by Leland and Jane Stanford in memory of their only child, Leland Stanford Jr., who had died of typhoid fever at age 15 the previous year. Stanford was a U.S. Senator and former Governor of California who made his fortune as a railroad tycoon. The school admitted its first students on October 1, 1891, as a coeducational and non-denominational institution.
Stanford University struggled financially after the death of Leland Stanford in 1893 and again after much of the campus was damaged by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Following World War II, Provost Frederick Terman supported faculty and graduates entrepreneurialism to build a self-sufficient local industry in what would later be known as Silicon Valley. The university is also one of the top fundraising institutions in the country, becoming the first school to raise more than a billion dollars in a year.
6. Touro University, Vallejo
Touro University California is a private graduate school focused primarily on health professions and located on Mare Island in Vallejo, California. It is part of the Touro College and University System and is jointly administered with its sister campus Touro University Nevada.
The university was founded in 1997 and was originally established in San Francisco as an independent, Jewish-sponsored institution, but relocated to Vallejo. Today, the university confers degrees in graduate studies of various disciplines including education, osteopathic medicine, pharmacy, physician assistant studies, nursing, and public health.
Touro University is also among the best Physician Assistant Private Schools In the World.
7. University of Southern California, Los Angeles
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a private research university in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1880, it is the oldest private research university in California. For the 2018–19 academic year, there were 20,000 students enrolled in four-year undergraduate programs.
USC also has 27,500 graduate and professional students in a number of different programs, including business, law, engineering, social work, occupational therapy, pharmacy, and medicine. It is the largest private employer in the city of Los Angeles and generates $8 billion in economic impact on Los Angeles and California.
8. Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona
WesternU is one of the largest graduate schools for the health professions in California. Alumni rank among the top leaders in health care and medicine throughout the country and the world.
The University is home to more than 3,800 students in nine health sciences colleges and 20-degree programs, as well as more than 1,100 employees, and its main campus in Southern California is one of the most thriving enterprises in the Pomona and Inland valleys. WesternU Pomona, encompassing 22 acres, has helped transform downtown Pomona into a thriving mix of retail, commercial and educational enterprises.
9. University of Bridgeport, Bridgeport
The University of Bridgeport is a private institution that was founded in 1927. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 3,415, its setting is urban, and the campus size is 86 acres.
It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. University of Bridgeport’s ranking in the 2024 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, #293-#381. Its tuition and fees are $34,100.
The University of Bridgeport is a seaside institution in Connecticut’s largest city. Undergraduates at the University of Bridgeport can choose from a wide range of academic majors, and graduate students have many options as well, including master’s programs in education, engineering, and more. Outside the classroom, students can explore more than 50 clubs, including fraternities, sororities, and intramural sports.
10. Chatham University, Pittsburgh
Chatham University is a private institution that was founded in 1869. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 1,105, its setting is urban, and the campus size is 427 acres.
It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. Chatham University’s ranking in the 2024 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, #185. Its tuition and fees are $38,738.
Chatham University, located in Pittsburgh, was once a women’s college but is now fully coeducational. Both male and female students are eligible for admission into the school’s undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
Some degree programs are offered through the university’s Falk School of Sustainability and its College for Continuing and Professional Studies, which also offers certificate and noncredit academic programs.
The university offers about 40 undergraduate degree programs, and students can also design their own major or minor. This university is also one of the best Physician Assistant Private Schools In the World.
FAQs:
The rotation will allow students to participate in outpatient clinics, surgeries, and Orthopaedic conferences. We currently have affiliations with the following PA programs: James Madison University. Virginia Medical School PA Program.
NO. But it is important to know where you stand and what you need to do to gain an interview with a PA program. The minimum GPA required for most schools is 3.0 (both overall and science), with some being slightly higher or lower.
According to the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA), PA school is quite difficult to get into. During the 2016 to 2017 cycle, there were a total of 26,768 applicants. This is up approximately 20% in just the past few years.
Conclusion
Pursuing a career as a physician assistant is a very demanding but lucrative one. You’ll get to spend so much time in school completing your training. It takes about 6 years without healthcare training while it takes 9 years plus with healthcare training.
But trust me, it’s really worth all the stress, because of the Salary and you’ll get to work with the specialists in your chosen specialty.
References
- https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/physician-assistants.htm
- http://www.arc-pa.org/accreditation/accredited-programs/
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