BS-Physician Assistant 5yr

Physician assistants (PAs) are medical providers who are nationally certified and state licensed to practice medicine as a member of a team with other healthcare professionals. Their specific tasks vary widely due to differences among state laws and hospital policies.

Generally, PAs are qualified to obtain patient histories, perform comprehensive physical examinations, order and interpret diagnostic laboratory tests, develop a diagnosis, implement a treatment plan for common illnesses, deliver patient education and counseling, perform certain surgical procedures, and provide emergency care. PAs may assist in surgery and deliver preoperative and post-operative care. Physician Assistants may deliver patient care in any setting in which the physician works.

The Physician Assistant Department offers a Master of Physician Assistant Science degree following five years of increasingly specialized study. The curriculum is predominantly clinical during the fifth year. During the fifth year, clinical faculty, in conjunction with various health care institutions, introduce the students to professional physician assistant training. This component of the program is offered primarily in clinical sites in northwestern Pennsylvania, Ohio and western New York, as well as some locations farther afield. Students are responsible for their own housing and transportation to and from clinical sites.

The PA program curriculum of Gannon University’s Physician Assistant Program is accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc. (ARC-PA). Applicants must meet the technical standards for admission to the program. For further details, contact the Admissions office.

Accreditation

The ARC-PA has granted Accreditation-Continued status to the Gannon University Physician Assistant Program sponsored by Gannon University. Accreditation-Continued is an accreditation status granted when a currently accredited program is in compliance with the ARC-PA Standards.

Accreditation remains in effect until the program closes or withdraws from the accreditation process or until accreditation is withdrawn for failure to comply with the Standards. The approximate date for the next validation review of the program by the ARC-PA will be March 2027.The review date is contingent upon continued compliance with the Accreditation Standards and ARC-PA policy.

Technical Standards

A candidate for admission to the PA Program must have the use of certain sensory and motor functions to permit them to carry out the activities described in the sections that follow. Graduation from the program signifies that the individual is prepared for entry into clinical practice or into postgraduate training programs. Therefore, it follows that graduates must have the knowledge and skills needed to function in a broad variety of clinical situations and to render a wide spectrum of diagnostic and therapeutic care. The candidate and student must be able consistently, quickly, and accurately to integrate all information received by whatever sense(s) are employed. Also, they must have the intellectual ability to learn, integrate, analyze, and synthesize data.

A candidate for the PA Program ordinarily must have the following abilities and skills as explained below: observation; communication; motor; intellectual, conceptual, integrative, and quantitative; and behavioral and social. Where technological assistance is available in the program, it may permit for disabilities in certain areas. Under all circumstances, a candidate should be able to perform the following tasks in a reasonably independent manner:

1. Observation: Candidates and students ordinarily must have sufficient vision to be able to observe demonstrations, experiments, and laboratory exercises. They must be able to observe a patient accurately at a distance and close at hand.

2. Communication: Candidates and students ordinarily must be able to communicate with patients and colleagues. They should be able to hear, but if technological compensation is available, it may permit for some handicaps in this area. Candidates and students must be able to read, write, and speak English.

3. Motor: Candidates and students ordinarily should have sufficient motor function such that they are able to execute movements reasonably required to provide general care and emergency treatment to patients. Examples of emergency treatment reasonably required of physician assistants is cardiopulmonary resuscitation, administration of intravenous medication, the application of pressure to stop bleeding, the opening of obstructed airways, the suturing of simple wounds, and the performance of simple obstetrical maneuvers. These actions require coordination of both gross and fine muscular movements, equilibrium, and functional use of the senses of touch and vision.

4. Intellectual, Conceptual, Integrative, and Quantitative Abilities: These abilities include measurement, calculation, reasoning, analysis, and synthesis. Problem solving, the critical intellectual skill demanded of a physician assistant, requires all of these intellectual abilities. In addition, candidates and students should be able to comprehend three dimensional relationships and understand the spatial relationships of structures.

5. Behavioral and Social Abilities: Candidates and students must possess the emotional health required for full utilization of the intellectual abilities, the exercise of good judgment, the prompt completion of all responsibilities attendant to the assessment and care of patients, and the development of mature, sensitive, and effective relationships with patients. Candidates and students must be able to tolerate physically taxing workloads, adapt to changing environments, display flexibility, and learn to function in the face of uncertainties inherent in the clinical problems of many patients. Compassion, integrity, concern for others, interpersonal skills, interest, and motivation are all personal qualities to be assessed during the admissions and educational processes.

The PA Department is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to students with an identifiable disability as defined by the Americans with Disability Act. In doing so, however, the PA Department must maintain the integrity of its curriculum and preserve those elements deemed essential to educating candidates to become effective physician assistants.

Students in the program must be of sufficient health and be able to obtain all required clearances (criminal, child abuse and FBI background checks annually) to meet the criteria of the PA Department and our clinical affiliates.

The PA Department reserves the right to reassess the student’s ability to meet the technical standards and Department requirements at any time during the student’s training and to act accordingly.

Employment Policy

Employment during the fourth year of the PA Program is not recommended. Demanding courses and time constraints are to be expected. Employment during the fifth year of the PA Program is strongly discouraged. Students will spend an average of 40 hours per week at their clinical site, plus complete reading assignments to prepare for end of rotation exams. Students may need to relocate every five weeks, precluding steady employment. Students who choose to work may jeopardize performance and continuation in the program.

Transfer Policies

Gannon’s physician assistant program is designed for first-time students. Due to limitations on class size, the only option available for transfer students is to enter the program at the freshmen level. This will require students to remain at Gannon for a full five years regardless of number of credits that the student can transfer. In order to be considered for the program, students must submit a completed application (application, official college transcript(s) and official high school transcripts and test scores, if necessary) by November 15. Qualified applicants must complete one of the scheduled interview dates. Please see the PA Program website for specific admission requirements.

General Program Policies

• Once matriculated into the program, students must maintain an overall GPA of a 3.0, as well as a program GPA of a 3.0.

• Students are required to complete 30 hours of patient interaction experiences prior to matriculation and an additional 20 hours annually during the first four years of the program. More information is provided to students upon acceptance to the program.

• Advanced standing is not granted in the fourth or fifth years of the program. No credits are awarded for experiential learning.

• Once matriculated, students should see the PA Program Handbook and the PA Program Clinical Handbook for specific policies and procedures.