Pre-Physician Assistant

Physician Assistants (PAs) are health professionals licensed to practice medicine with physician supervision. Many are primary providers, but specialties are possible. Training occurs in hospitals, colleges, universities and medical schools. The typical PA training format is a BS/MS degree or MS degree following four years of undergraduate study. Bachelor’s programs are four years in length with the prerequisites integrated into the total program. Some programs award a certificate instead of an academic degree. Degrees offered range from Associate’s degree (rare) to a Master’s degree. Selection criteria vary according to the individual institution’s philosophy. UB students pursuing Physician Assistant careers complete their Bachelor’s degree in any major, as well as the prerequisite courses, and apply to PA programs typically in the summer of their senior year. However, individual school deadlines should be carefully consulted. Many schools are on rolling admission, so applying early is important.

The minimum grade point averages hover near a 3.0 GPA but most students admitted have very competitive averages (e.g., 3.5 and higher). Course work in the sciences typically includes biology, chemistry, anatomy, physiology and microbiology. Certain schools do require organic chemistry, physics, biochemistry and often calculus. Psychology, English and credits in humanities are frequently cited. Increasingly, PA programs insist on a specific number of hours of health related experience. Since each school varies in the number of hours and whether these may be volunteer or paid, students must research each school very carefully to determine qualifications.

For more information you may consult the Physician Assistant Programs Directory. There are close to 300 PA programs in the United States; several of which are in the State of New York. There are a large number of programs in the downstate area. There are three programs in Western New York at Canisius College, Daemen College and D’Youville University in Buffalo. Canisius and Daemen are free standing Master’s degree programs; D’Youville offers a combined BS/MS. The Canisius PA program gives preference to applicants from either Canisius or UB. 

From the time you begin college, you are assembling a complete dossier with which to apply to these professional schools. Each of the requirements is a part of the whole. For PA schools your record will include:

• A Bachelor’s degree (for those applying to free standing Master’s degree programs)
• Prerequisite courses
• References
• Health related experience

We recommend researching PA programs early as requirements can vary greatly from school to school, and you may need to plan ahead to fit in all required courses. The chart below contains the more commonly required courses, but check with individual schools for specifics or additional requirements. 

• ONLINE prerequisite courses are STRONGLY DISCOURAGED as many professional schools will not accept them.
• All required courses must be taken for a grade. Each school has its own policy about AP credit. Usually, AP credit in these areas should be followed with additional upper level work in the discipline including labs. AP credit in math is the only subject in which more advanced work is not necessarily required.
• Let your major advisor know of your professional goals so they can help you, along with Prehealth, plan your courses accordingly. There are sometimes cases for course substitutions that are allowed (for example, engineering majors) and always a need for careful planning. 
• Not all PA programs require an entrance exam, but many programs require the GRE.
• The PA-CAT is a new exam that a small number of programs may require. 

Physician Assistant programs may require a minimum number of hours of health related experience that can range from as little as 100 hours to 1,000 or more. They may also require applicants to have hands-on patient care experience as opposed to just patient contact. Positions that involve patient care may include, but are not limited to:

• Medical Assisting Positions
• Medical Scribe Positions (not always accepted by some PA programs)
• Patient Care Assistant or Associate Positions
• Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)
• Phlebotomist: Draws blood for testing & blood drives. Contact Med Tech program at Erie Community College (ECC) regarding training.
• Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)
• LPN
• Orderly 
• Home health aide
• EKG/Monitor Technician 
• Athletic Trainer
• Dietician
• Volunteer direct patient care (e.g., hospitals, hospice, nursing homes) 
• PA Shadowing (Some schools limit acceptable hours) 

Consult individual PA school websites and admissions advisors for more suggestions and to be sure that they count these options.