Devorah Lieberman, Ph.D., Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

Jeffrey Kraus, Ph.D., Associate Provost

Nora Lowy, MPA, PA-C, Director of Physician Assistant Program

Mission

The mission of the three-year BS/MS Physician Assistant Program is to prepare professional academic clinicians, committed to healthcare and to providing quality care to all individuals.

Program Goal

The three-year BS/MS Program in Physician Assistant Studies is a comprehensive program of didactic (academic), clinical and research work that reflects upon the academic, clinical, and professional skills required of the physician assistant.  Students completing the prescribed three-year program in physician assistant studies will receive their BS and MS degrees and be eligible to take the national certifying examination leading to the title of Certified Physician Assistant (PA-C).

Program Overview and Student Learning Goals

The three-year BS/MS Program in Physician Assistant Studies is accredited by the New York State Department of Education and the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA). 

The three-year physician assistant program is based on the medical model and consists of academic, clinical, and graduate phases.  The didactic (academic) phase includes classroom and laboratory instruction in Medical Sciences (Clinical Anatomy, Medical Physiology, Medical Microbiology, Clinical Pathology), Behavioral Sciences, Clinical Sciences (General Medicine, Emergency and Surgical Medicine, Maternal and Child Medicine, Primary Care and Pharmacotherapeutics), and Professional Ethics.  Clinical exposure begins during the didactic phase of the professional program by providing supervised experiences in history and physical assessment in a variety of clinical settings.  That clinical exposure extends into the clinical phase of the subsequent year and is further developed as clerkships in the graduate phase or the final year of the program.  The clinical phase provides students with full time, direct patient care in ambulatory, in-patient, long-term, and emergency settings.  Graduate-level courses are introduced during the second year of the three-year program and continued in the final year to fulfill the requirement for the MS degree.  These courses provide the physician assistant with the knowledge and skills required for professional and career development.  In keeping with the philosophy of physician assistant education, the graduate work consists of academic courses complemented with clerkship experiences.

The required didactic, clinical, and graduate phases of the BS/MS program are designed to build upon the scientific and liberal arts knowledge obtained in the college's liberal arts core curriculum and assist the student in developing the knowledge and skills appropriate for the profession.

The mission of the BS/MS program also coordinates with the mission of Staten Island University Hospital, its primary affiliate.  The hospital is a not-for-profit, comprehensive, community health care system committed to meeting the health care needs of people on Staten Island and surrounding communities.  The services provided by the hospital are directed by the needs of the communities it serves.  Staten Island University Hospital believes health care is a right, not a privilege and that a fair and equitable health-care system should be avaialble to everyone.

By graduation, student with BS/MS degrees in Physician Assistant Studies should possess or have demonstrated

          1.  knowledge/skills in history taking and performing physical examinations.
          2.  knowledge/skills in using laboraory and diagnostic studies.
          3.  knowledge/skills in formulating a most likely diagnosis.
          4.  knowledge/skills in clinical intervention.
          5.  knowledge/skills in clinical therapeutics.
          6.  knowledge/skills in health maintenance.
          7.  knowledge/skills in applying scientific concepts.
          8.  application of knowledge and skills corresponding to the following systems:

                   (a)  cardiovascular
                   (b)  pulmonary
                   (c)  endocrine
                   (d)  EENT (eyes, ears,  nose, and throat)
                   (e)  gastrointestinal
                    (f)  genitourinary
                   (g)  reproductive
                   (h)  musculoskeletal
                    (i)  neurological
                    (j)  psychiatric
                   (k)  dermatologic
                    (l)  hematologic
                   (m) infectious disease

NCCPA Pass Rates for Wagner College Physician Assistant Program

Comparison of Wagner College to the National Pass Rate

Program Admissions

The three-year BS/MS Program in Physician Assistant Studies is designed to accommodate 20 students per year.  Students are interviewed in depth by representatives of the Physician Assistant Program as part of the admission process to the college and are approved as physician assistant majors to begin the pre-physician assistant curriculum.  If openings arise in the freshman or sophomore class, well-qualified students may be allowed to interview for the pre-physician assistant curriculum.  While at Wagner College, students in the pre-physician assistant curriculum are under the direction of the Pre-Physician Assistant Coordinator.  Upon entering the Physician Assistant Program, students are under the direction of the Director of the Physician Assistant Program.

After two full academic years, during which the student must complete all the prerequisite course requirements for the Physician Assistant Program, as well as the designated portion of the general education requirements, the student generally enters the Physician Assistant Program, where s/he must successfully complete three years of professional course work:  one year of didactic instruction; one year of clinical experience; and one year of graduate-level didactic, clinical, and research work. 

The student finishing the pre-profession assistant curriculum applies for continuation into the professional Physician Assistant Program during the sophomore year.  Students entering as PA majors must maintain a minimum GPA of  2.7 or higher to continue as PA majors.  Those who have achieved a cumulative index of 3.0  or higher as well as an index of 3.0 or higher in the biological and physical sciences will be interviewed for continuation into the three year Physician Assistant Program.  Studies confirmed for admission to the Physician Assistant Program must maintain these indices to commence Physician Assistant Program studies.

Prerequisites for the BS/MS Physician Assistant Program

Eight (8) units in biological and physical sciences including Biology 209 (Human Anatomy and Physiology I), 210 (Human Anatomy and Physiology II), 221 (Biostatistics and Experimental Design); Chemistry 111 (General Chemistry I), 112 (General Chemistry II), 211 (Organic Chemistry I); Microbiology 200 (Microbiology), 216 (General Pathology).  A laboratory section must be taken as part of any course for which a laboratory section is offered.  Lecture and laboratory must be taken concurrently.

Two (2) units in required cognate courses:  Philosophy 202 (Medical Ethics); Psychology 101 (Introduction to Psychology).

Requirements for the BS/MS in Physician Assistant Studies

Twenty-seven (27) units in physician assistant (PA) courses during the three-year Physician Assistant Program:

    Professional Year 1: 

        PA 411E/411   Medical Science I (Clinical Anatomy; Medical Physiology)

        PA 412            Medical Science II (Clinical Pathology; Medical Microbiology; Medical Genetics)

        PA 415            Behavioral Sciences (Human Behavior; Preventive Medicine)

        PA 416            Clinical Prep Science I (Patient Assessment I; Interpretation of Lab Data)

        PA 417            Primary Care and Pharmacotherapeutics I (Primary Care I; Pharmacotherapeutics I;
                                  Interpretation of EKGs and ABGs)

        PA 419            Professionalism and Ethics (PA Professionalism; BCLS and Clinical Skills)

        PA 421            Emergency and Surgical Medicine (Emergency Medicine; General Surgery;
                                  Radiology Interpretation)

        PA 422            General Medicine

        PA 423            Maternal and Child Health (Pediatrics; OB/GYN)

        PA 424            Primary Care and Pharmacotherapeutics II (Pharmacotherpeutics II; Primary Care II;
                                   Patient Assessment II)

  Professional Year 2:

        PA 431E/431   Medical Clinical Practice I

        PA 432            Medical Clinical Practice II

        PA 434            Medical Clinical Practice III

        PA 442            Medical Clinical Practice IV

        PA 443            Medical Clinical Practice V

        PA 501            Art and Practice of Health Education

        PA 503            Leadership and Development

        PA 504            Medical Literature Review and Analysis

        PA 514            Advanced Health Assessment

   Professional Year 3:

        PA 533E/533   Medical Clinical Practice VI

        PA 541            Medical Clinical Practice VII

        PA 612            Critical Thinking in Medicine

        PA 630            Clerkship I

        PA 645            Clerkship II

        PA 651            Health Care Management

        PA 790            Research Design

        PA 799            Thesis