Master of Physician Assistant
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The Master of Physician Assistant (MPA) program prepares the student to assume the roles and duties of a Physician Assistant after they have successfully passed the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination.
The Physician Assistant Program consists of acceptance as a graduate student at The University of Findlay, being accepted into the PA program, and completion of all required professional-level courses and demonstration of specified competencies.
Graduates of the program are eligible to sit for the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination.
The program begins in August of each year and continues for seven semesters, including summers.
The first 4 semesters involve classroom instruction using various instructional modalities including lecture, demonstration, small and large group activities, and seminar-type class work. During these first four semesters, students will be required to visit a long term care facility and obtain a medical history from one or more residents. Other clinically related, out of the class room are offered if and when they become available.
Courses covered in the first 4 semesters are: Mechanisms of Health and Disease, Clinical Anatomy, Physical Assessment I, II, Information Literacy and Communication, PA Profession: History, Culture and Practice, Clinical Inquiry and Communication, Clinical Medicine I, II, and III, Clinical Pharmacology I, II, Health Care Systems, Policy and Practice, Clinical Patient Care I, II, Clinical Heuristics and Decision Making, Designing a Research Project, Fundamentals of Emergency Care, Fundamentals of Surgical Patient Care, Behavioral Medicine, Community and Individual Wellness, and Evidence-Based Case Management.
During the last 3 semesters, each student chooses and works on a research topic while training full-time at a clinical site. Each student is provided with the required clinical experiences in Family Practice, General Internal Medicine, General Pediatrics, Women's Health, General Surgery, Emergency Medicine, and Psychiatry/Mental Health. During this phase of his or her educational experience, the student will be expected to travel to off-campus sites to complete the required clinical work. A clinical experience in an area of interest is also required.
The University of Findlay PA Program was placed in a Probationary Accreditation status by The Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA).
Successful graduates of our program earn a Master of Physician Assistant (MPA) degree and are eligible to take the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination which is required for licensure.
The probationary status is to be reviewed in March 2012. Students currently enrolled or those who matriculate while the program is on probation are still considered to be enrolled in an accredited program and are eligible to take the national certifying examination.
The program has been accredited since 2000.
Because of the close working relationship PAs have with physicians, PAs are educated in the medical model.
Upon graduation, physician assistants take a national certification examination developed by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants in conjunction with the National Board of Medical Examiners.
To maintain their national certification, PAs must log 100 hours of continuing medical education every two years and sit for a recertification every six years.
Graduation from an accredited physician assistant program and passage of the national certifying exam are required for state licensure.
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