A physician assistant is a state-licensed or federally-credentialed health care professional who practices medicine with physician supervision. In clinical practice, PAs perform an extensive range of medical services in virtually every medical and surgical specialty and health care setting. Offering many of the health services traditionally provided by physicians, more than 100,000 NCCPA-certified PAs play a major role in US health care delivery. It is estimated that a physician assistant performs about 80% of duties traditionally limited to physicians. As part of their many roles in the clinical setting, physician assistants:
- Take patient histories and perform physical exams
- Order diagnostic evaluations and formulate differential diagnoses,
- Diagnose illness and develop treatment plans including prescribe medications
- Counsel and educate patients
- In specialized settings, perform medical procedures such as assist in surgery
More information can be found at the American Academy of Physician Assistants web site, aapa.org.
The physician assistant career is fast-paced, exciting and rewarding. PAs work in virtually every medical specialty and can laterally move to other specialties, according to need or desire. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, PA jobs are expected to grow 37% by 2026, compared to 7% for all occupations. The median wage for PAs in 2017 was $104,860. Detailed information can be found at bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/physician-assistants.htm.
University of St. Francis PA Program
USF’s Physician Assistant program is delivered in person at USF’s Albuquerque campus at 1500 N. Renaissance NE, Suite C, in beautiful Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Interviews take place on campus July though November each year.
Students are admitted once a year, with classes beginning in January.
If you are unsure as to whether a course satisfies a requirement, please have the following information available:
1) the course name and number
2) college or university of attendance
3) course description from catalog or syllabus.
Contact admissions@stfrancis.edu.
Application
Applicants must have a baccalaureate degree from a nationally accredited college or university with a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA, 3.0 CASPA science (BCP) GPA and a minimum 3.0 GPA in prerequisite classes on 4.0 scale. Applicants must have taken the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) within the last five years and have a minimum of 500 hours of formal, hands-on clinical experience in a medical setting. Applicants that have completed a graduate degree from an accredited U.S. university or college may submit graduate GPA in lieu of GRE scores. Application Requirements.
All applications must be submitted to and verified by CASPA prior to our October 1 deadline.
Prerequisite Coursework
We have chosen a slate of prerequisite courses that we have found to be foundational to matriculating PA students. We do not mandate that prerequisites be taken solely at a 4-year college or university.
All prerequisites should be completed prior to application. However, applications submitted prior to completion of prerequisite coursework will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
No. All science courses listed on our academic prerequisite requirement page must be completed in traditional classroom and laboratory settings. Given the complexity and nature of PA education, we want to ensure that all applicants accepted to the program have sufficient academic preparation for success. We believe this is best achieved by taking your science class prerequisites in a classroom setting.
All prerequisite coursework must be current within seven (7) years of admission to the PA program for applicants with an undergraduate degree, ten (10) years for applicants with a graduate or higher level degree. Upper level coursework may be substituted for expired prerequisite courses at the discretion of the admissions director.
All prerequisite courses are required of all applicants to be considered, regardless of your previous academic work.
Degree Requirements
No, however all applicants must have completed their bachelor’s degree prior to matriculation into the program. If you have completed the prerequisites and are in the process of finishing your bachelor’s degree you may be eligible for conditional acceptance. Proof of your degree will be required prior for matriculation.
No. There is no preference. We do recommend if you are just starting to take classes that you consider a medical/health or science related degree.
The Physician Assistant program does not offer or accept advanced placement, including and not limited to CLEP, or credit for experiential learning or international medical experience and/or transfer of credit from another physician assistant program or medical school. Essentially, students must complete the entire 27-month curriculum offered by the University of St. Francis, regardless of prior education or experience. In regards to pre-requisites, if an applicant received AP credit for a required pre-requisite course at the undergraduate level, for example Biology 101, the pre-requisite GPA calculation will simply credit the applicant for completion of the course. The USF PA program will not reasonably expect the applicant to repeat such a course.
GPA and GRE Requirements
We require a minimum minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA, 3.0 CASPA science (BCP) GPA and a minimum 3.0 GPA in prerequisite classes on 4.0 scale.
Competitive applicants score at least 300 on the verbal and quantitative portions, and a 4.0 on the analytical writing portion. Applicants that have completed a graduate degree from an accredited U.S. university or college may submit graduate GPA in lieu of GRE scores.
All applicants must submit official GRE scores, unless submitting graduate GPA in lieu of GRE. Applicants must have taken the GRE within the last five years. To schedule the GRE exam visit the GRE web site at gre.org. The University of St. Francis has arranged for Educational Testing Service (ETS) to transmit official GRE scores electronically to the Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA). Please use DI Code 0523 when indicating our program as a score recipient. If submitting directly to USF, please use the following school code 1130 and dept code 0699.
You must provide foreign transcript evaluations from an approved evaluation service for any college or university you have attended outside of the U.S. Submit official foreign transcripts to an approved foreign transcript evaluation service for a course-by-course U.S. equivalency report. Arrange for foreign transcript reports to be sent directly to our program.
Foreign students, for whom English is a second language, must submit a minimum TOEFL score of 550 (paper exam) or 85 (web-based exam).
Please report your TOEFL scores directly to CASPA by sending them to code #3709.
Letters of Recommendation
A supervisor, co-worker or academic advisor – anyone who can evaluate your professional skills. Do not submit a reference from someone you have shadowed for a short time (<100 hours), a family member or friend. The program would prefer a reference from a PA or physician who is familiar with PA practice but only if they can provide a professional reference.
Healthcare Experience
A minimum of 500 hours of direct patient care experience demonstrating personal maturity and knowledge of healthcare systems. The applicant should show leadership or increasing levels of responsibility. The work may be paid or volunteer, full or part time. At minimum it should be service and health system related.
Admissions Policies
The USF PA program does not have any admission or enrollment practices that favor specified individuals or groups. We however seek to draw students from all backgrounds and cultures in an effort to create a diverse program.
The USF PA program practices a rolling admissions policy. Applicant materials are processed and reviewed as they are received. Students are interviewed and then notified of their admission on a continual basis.
