SIUC PA PROGRAM
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What degree does your program offer?
We offer a Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies (MSPA) as well as a Master’s Completion Program (MCP) via distance learning.
How long is the
program?
MSPA - 26 months
MCP - 12 months
How many students do
you accept each year?
24
When do students
start the program?
MSPA - Approximately the first Friday in June each year only.
MCP - Fall Semester each year unless arranged with the program.
Can I start at a
later date?
For the MSPA, no. All students begin the program on the same date.
For the MCP, by arrangement of the PA Program
What qualities are
you looking for in applicants?
For the MSPA, the most academically and experientially qualified students will be invited to participate in formal interview sessions. Preference is given to those applicants with health care experience, exceptional academic performance, shadowed a PA, and those from rural areas. Selection of candidates for admission to the PA program will be made by a full committee review following the applicants’ interviews.
For the MCP, an applicant must be NCCPA certified, work in a clinical position and hold a Bachelors degree from an accredited Physician Assistant Program.
What type of health
care experience are you looking for in an MSPA applicant?
We prefer applicants who have at least 2,000 hours of direct patient care experience in a variety of settings and those who have shadowed a PA. Additionally, if the experience includes contact with physician assistants, it provides you with greater insight into the role of the PA. In the past, the average prior medical experience has been approximately 3-5 years. However, some PA students have less, and some have more than 20 years experience.
For the MCP, see information above.
Will volunteer health
care experience be considered for the MSPA?
The admissions committee considers all health care experience.
What are the
prerequisite courses for the MSPA?
To enter the program you must complete both a Bachelors Degree as well as the designated prerequisite/support courses or their equivalent as listed below:
General Biology/Zoology 118 or 200A (for science majors); two semesters of College Chemistry 140 A & B with labs (7 or 8 semester hours, organic and biological); Elementary Microbiology 201 with lab (3 or 4 semester hours); Introduction to Psychology 102 or Developmental Psychology (3 semester hours); Introduction to Statistics – ABE 318, ATS 386, ESPY 402, HED 326, HCM 365, IMS 365, MATH 282, PSYC 211 or SOC 308 (3+ semester hours); Physiology 301, (Cadaver Anatomy); Physiology 310, or higher; Medical Terminology, HCP 105 (online) or proficiency; Speech 101; English Composition 101 and HED 334 or current certification in CPR. Additionally, we recommend that courses in Physiology be completed recently; at least within the past five years.
Do you accept
transfer credits for the MSPA?
Courses may be accepted if they transfer with full credit and you have an acceptable grade in them. No PA program credit is given for experiential learning or if you are already a medical doctor. No advanced placement is awarded toward the completion of either PA degree program.
I’ve worked in health
care for many years. I don’t have time
to take the entire required Bachelor’s Degree and/or all prerequisite/support
courses. Will you waive any of these
courses for the MSPA?
No. All applicants are required to have a Bachelor’s Degree and complete all prerequisite/support courses before entry into the PA program.
Do I need to take any
tests to apply?
MSPA - Either the GRE, MAT or the MCAT is required. None will be accepted if over ten (10) years old. MCP – None required
What about Grade
Point Average (GPA)?
MSPA - We utilize both the “overall” GPA and prerequisite/support course GPA in determining eligibility. You must have an earned “overall” or a cumulative GPA of 2.8 (A=4.0) or higher for your Bachelors Degree. The GPA for the prerequisite/support courses (listed above) must be at least a 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
MCP – Must have an earned Bachelor’s in PA Studies.
How do I apply?
Application is a two-part
process. In Part 1, a prospective student
must submit an SIUC generic online graduate application directly to the
What does it cost to
apply?
There is a $45.00 fee to apply for either the MSPA or the MCP.
What is the cost of
the program?
Tuition
rates are established by the SIUC Board of Trustees and are competitive with
other PA programs. Tuition for the MSPA
will be approximately $20,500 per year, plus fees. Annual tuition and fee costs
for non-Illinois residents are approximately double that for
The MCP has a cost of $450 per credit hour taken online.
I will need financial
aid. Is this available?
Yes. Contact the Department of Financial Aid at 618/453-4334, and tell them that you want more information on financial aid to cover Physician Assistant Program costs.
Will I spend the
entire 26-months entirely in
No, the first year (Phase I) is spent on campus in Carbondale. The second year (Phase II) is the year that students complete their clinical rotations. Applicants must be aware that they may be required to relocate to one of our hubsites for Phase II (approximately 12 months) of the curriculum. The hubsites are in central and southern Illinois, and include Carbondale/Delta, Decatur, Mattoon, Olney, Peoria/Bloomington, Quincy and Springfield. Phase III is an 8-week preceptorship arranged individually.
How can I find out if
the courses I’ve taken meet your prerequisite/support course requirements?
If you are uncertain, you should include a copy of the course description and syllabus in a letter to the academic advisor. This will allow the admissions committee to have the necessary information to make the determination.
What if I have prerequisite/support
courses in progress? May I still apply?
Yes. However, during the Spring semester before the Program begins (summer), you may have only medical terminology and two other PA requirements (one prerequisite (support) course and one major course) that will be complete that Spring.
What is the application deadline?
All applications for the MSPA must be completed, returned and/or postmarked to the PA office by December 1st. Incomplete or late applications will not be considered.
The MCP follows the regular University calendar and the deadline to apply each year is June 1st.
When and where do
these interviews take place?
Interviews are held at the discretion of the Admissions Committee, but are usually scheduled in October, November, January and February. Interviews are held at SIUC, in Lindegren Hall.
Does everyone get an
interview?
No, only those identified by the Admissions Committee as the most capable applicants are interviewed. Because we select only 24 students each year, the process is very competitive.
May I work while I’m
in the program?
Because the 26-month program is very rigorous, students are discouraged from working while in the program. Should the student insist upon working, his/her work schedule must not interfere with tutor sessions or any other aspect of program activities.
May I specialize?
In Phases II and III each student has one elective rotation and one preceptorship in which he/she may choose to complete clinical rotations in specialty areas, with faculty approval.
How do SIUC PA
graduates do on the national board exam?
Our graduates have done very well on the PANCE (national board exam). Our first two graduating classes had a 100% first-taker pass rate. The class of 2001 and 2002 had a 95% first-taker pass rate. The classes of 2003, 2004 and 2005 have an overall pass rate of 100%. The mean score for SIUC PA students has been between the 91st and 99th percentile for all graduating classes.
If I’m not accepted
to the program in one year, may I reapply?
Yes. We encourage most applicants to reapply for the program. You’ll need to repeat the complete application process.
May I talk to or meet with the academic advisor?
Yes, you can reach the academic advisor at pa_advisement@siumed.edu or phone 618/453-5527 after submitting an unofficial transcript for evaluation.
Questions on the
profession:
Q. What is a physician assistant?
A. A physician assistant (PA) is a health professional licensed by the state or credentialed by a federal employer to practice medicine as delegated by and with the supervision of a physician. PAs provide a broad range of medical and surgical services that traditionally have been performed by physicians.
A hallmark of physician assistant practice is that PAs work as a member of a team, with their supervising physicians as the leaders of the team. As members of the medical team, PAs diagnose and treat illness. They can meet the needs of patients in a variety of clinical and hospital settings. PAs have long been recognized as quality health care providers.
Q. What does a physician assistant do?
A. As part of their responsibilities, physician assistants perform physical exams, diagnose illnesses, develop and carry out treatment plans, order and interpret lab tests, suture lacerations, apply casts, assist in surgery, provide patient education and preventive health care counseling, and in virtually all states prescribe medications.
To allow the physician-PA team to be more efficient in providing care to patients, the vast majority of states do not require PAs and their supervising physicians to be at the same location. All state laws require the supervising physician to be available, either in person or by telecommunications, when the PA is seeing patients.
Q. What kinds of conditions can PAs treat, and what situations require
physician care?
A. The scope of the PA’s work corresponds to the supervising physician’s practice. In general, a physician assistant and the supervising physician will see patients with the same kinds of illnesses. The cases handled by physicians are generally the more complicated medical cases or those that require care that is not a routine part of the PA’s scope of work.
Supervising physicians determine which patients and what kinds of illnesses they want PAs to treat. Close consultation between the patient, PA, and physician is done for unusual or hard to manage illnesses. Physician assistants are taught to know when it is appropriate to have the patient seen by the physician. It is an important part of PA training.
Q. What is the education process for a PA?
A. They typical applicant to a physician assistant educational program has a bachelor’s degree and four years of health care experience. Commonly, nurses, emergency medical technicians, and paramedics apply to PA programs.
PA programs
look for students who have a desire to study, to work hard, and to be of
service. All PA programs are accredited by one independent organization
supported by the American Medical Association, the
The typical PA program provides students a broad education in primary care medicine in two phases. The first phase includes lectures and lab sessions in anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, microbiology, medical ethics, and similar courses.
The second phase is spent in clinical rotations in such specialties as family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, emergency medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, geriatrics, surgery, psychology, and other specialties. During this period, students treat patients in each of the major disciplines of medicine and perform additional course work on campus.
A PA’s education doesn’t stop after graduation, though. To keep abreast of medical advances, PAs are committed to life-long learning. PAs take continuing medical education classes throughout their career and sit for a national recertification exam every six years.
Q. How did the profession begin?
A. In the
mid-1960s, physicians and educators recognized there was a shortage and an
uneven distribution of primary care physicians. To expand the delivery of
quality medical care, Eugene Stead, M.D., at the
Q. Where do physician assistants work?
A. PAs are
employed in virtually all types of health care settings – hospitals, clinics,
private physician offices, schools, HMOs and even in the White House as members
of the medical team taking care of the President and Vice President. The
PAs can be found in communities of all sizes, from the smallest rural town to major metropolitan areas, and in virtually every medical and surgical specialty. Although the majority of PAs work in primary care medicine – family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, and obstetrics and gynecology – many work in specialty medicine, such as cardiothoracic surgery and orthopedics. PAs may also work in the areas of medical education, health administration, and research.
Q. What’s the difference between a PA and a physician?
A. Physician assistants are trained in medicine, just like physicians, and in some programs PAs attend many of the same classes as medical students. Both professions are educated to detect diseases and treat them, and to assist patients in living a healthier lifestyle. A major difference between PA education and physician education is the amount of time spent in their formal education. In addition, physicians are required to do an internship after graduation from medical school, and the majority of physicians complete a residency in a specialty following their internship. PAs are not required to undertake an internship or residency.
Q. What is the difference between a PA and a Nurse Practitioner?
A. “On a daily basis, in the United States, physician assistants and nurse practitioners function in similar roles. Both can diagnose, treat, and prescribe, but the training of physician assistants is generalist in nature and modeled on medical school curriculums. All physician assistants learn primary care and rotate through the major specialties while in training. Nurse practitioners, on the other hand, have traditionally been trained in one specialty (pediatrics, women’s health, etc.). Recently, family practice as a specialty has gained on popularity. Physician assistants are employed more often as house officers within the hospital setting than are nurse practitioners; surgery and its subspecialties are the most popular in-house specialties. Physician assistants are also more involved in emergency care than are nurse practitioners.
Politically, physician assistants
consider themselves to be a part of medicine as a member of the physician-led
team, and some physician assistants sit on physicians’ state medical
boards. In contrast, nurse practitioners
come from a nursing background and feel closest to nursing. Most state legislation for nurse
practitioners sets up the state board of nursing as their regulatory body. Although both groups seek to be part of the
medical care team, most nurse practitioners do not feel a political need to be
tied to a physician. This has led some
nurse practitioners to seek independent practice, which physician assistants
have not done. It is the setting and the
specialty that determines how these two professions practice, rather than legislative
or professional regulations.” (Obtained from: http://www.paworld.net/whatpadoes.htm on May 23, 2007)
Q. Have physician assistants been accepted on the health care team?
A. Most physicians who have worked with physician assistants like having PAs on staff. The American Medical Association, the American College of Surgeons, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Physicians, and other medical groups support the physician assistant profession by having voting members on the boards that accredit PA educational programs and certify individual PAs.
PAs enjoy a collegial relationship with other providers because physician assistants have demonstrated their commitment to their patients and their competence in delivering quality medical care. Their training as team players enables them to work with other providers to ensure appropriate patient care in all settings.
According to the Eighth Report to the President and Congress on the Status of Health Personnel in the United States, “physician assistants have demonstrated their clinical effectiveness both in terms of quality of care and patient acceptance.”
Q. What does the “C” in PA-C mean?
A. Physician assistant-certified. It means that the person who holds the title has passed the certification exam developed jointly by the National Board of Medical Examiners and the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA). The NCCPA is an independent organization, and its commissioners represent different national medical organizations and the PA profession. Only graduates from accredited PA educational programs are allowed to take the initial exam.
To maintain the “C” after “PA,” a physician assistant must log 100 hours of continuing medical education every two years and take the national recertification exam every six years. The certification and recertification exams help ensure there is a core medical and surgical knowledge that each PA-C should attain and maintain.
Q. What is the
A. AAPA is the
only national professional society to represent all physician assistant in
every area of medicine. Founded in 1968, the Academy represents PAs in all 50
states, the
Questions and Answers on the PA Profession were taken from AAPA Publication #101, Revised 6/07fjk