Physician Assistant MHS
Major: Physician Assistant
Degree Awarded: Master of Health Science (MHS)
Calendar Type: Quarter
Minimum Required Credits: 117.0
Co-op Option: None
Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code: 51.0912
Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code: 29-1071
About the Program
The Drexel University Physician Assistant program provides graduates with a Master of Health Science degree and eligibility to sit for the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination (PANCE).
A physician assistant (PA) is a primary health care provider who, when graduated from an accredited program, nationally certified and state-licensed, is eligible to practice medicine with the legal supervision of a physician.
PAs perform many duties including, but not limited to, physical examinations, diagnosis and treatment of illnesses, ordering and interpretation of lab tests, assisting in surgery, performing procedures and hospital rounds, prescribing medicines and providing patient education.
The mission of this program is to:
- Educate qualified primary care physician assistants.
- Improve health care delivery in rural and urban medically underserved areas.
- Promote the physician assistant profession.
Additional Information
For more information about this program, contact: paadmissions@drexel.edu
For more details about the program, visit the College of Nursing and Health Professions Physician Assistant page.
Admission Requirements
The Drexel University Physician Assistant Program utilizes the Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA). All applicants must complete the CASPA application process and the application must be verified by CASPA no later than September 1st of the year prior to expected date of matriculation. Applicants may not apply directly to the Drexel University Physician Assistant Program. Applications made directly to the Office of Enrollment Management (Admissions) of Drexel University will not be processed.
- All applications must be verified by CASPA no later than September 1st.
- For the 2023-2024 application cycle (open April 27 - September 1, 2023) all prerequisites must be completed by the end of the fall semester. NOTE: Up to two (2) prerequisite courses may be incomplete at the time of application submission, but those courses must be completed by the end of the Fall 2023 term.
Application Prerequisites
- A bachelor's degree obtained from a regionally accredited US institution by the end of the spring term prior to fall matriculation is required. The equivalency of a bachelor's degree from a foreign institution is acceptable if verified on the WES evaluation.
- A minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 is required for the following categories: overall total GPA and overall science GPA. Applications will not be reviewed unless the applicant has attained these minimum requirements at time of application.
- Meet the technical standards for admission, progression, and graduation from the Physician Assistant Program. Each applicant is expected to review completely the “Technical Standards for PA Program” PDF on the program webpage. Individuals unable to meet these technical standards, with or without reasonable accommodation, are counseled to pursue alternate careers.
- Official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended sent directly to CASPA.
- Non-United States-based educational institutional transcripts must be evaluated by World Education Service (WES). Evaluation fees are the responsibility of the applicant. Evaluations must be sent directly to CASPA.
- Three completed reference forms with accompanying letters of recommendation submitted as part of the official CASPA application. Preferred references are from individuals who have interacted with the applicant in a supervisory capacity or academic instructors who have personal knowledge of the applicant. Submission of references from friends, relatives, personal physicians, or instructors who do not possess a personal, supervisory knowledge of the applicants is discouraged.
- A personal statement recorded as part of the CASPA application.
- An applicant whose native language is not English must submit scores from the TOEFL iBT examination unless the applicant has graduated with a bachelor’s degree from a U.S. college or university. The minimum required score for the iBT (Internet Based Testing) is 105 and a minimum score of 26 is required for the speaking component. Find more detailed information at http://www.toeflgoanywhere.org/. Scores must be submitted directly to CASPA.
- Meet the minimum prerequisite coursework as detailed in the “Admissions" tab of the program webpage.
- A minimum of 500 hours of clearly documented volunteer or paid direct hands-on patient care experience accrued by the time of application and recorded as part of the official CASPA application is required. Ensure that all hours are accurately reported. Applicants may list the same position in multiple sections in order to account for multiple experiences (patient contact, related health care, research, shadowing, etc.) accrued in the same position as long as each hour is not reported in more than one experience category. Please review the "Admissions" tab of the program webpage for more information regarding acceptable forms of patient care experience.
- Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores are not required or considered.
- The Physician Assistant Program does not grant advanced standing.
Additional Information
For more details about the application process, visit the Physician Assistant Program's Admissions webpage.
Degree Requirements
The intensive curriculum consists of professionally related coursework taken during a continuous period (the part-time option requires an additional calendar year) and gives students an understanding of both the health care system within which they will work and the functions appropriate to the role of the physician assistant. The curriculum is divided into a full year of didactic courses followed by an additional 15 months of supervised clinical practice.
Training begins with four quarters of didactic education which integrates patient interaction throughout. The clinical training phase consists of six (6) five-credit, five week clinical rotations in medicine, surgery, women's health, pediatrics, emergency medicine, and psychiatry. The clinical phase of the curriculum is completed on a full-time basis for both full and part-time students.
The final portion of the curriculum consists of two, 10.0 credit quarter-long, primary care practica (preceptorships). During the preceptorship phase, each student is assigned to two primary care sites for individualized clinical training with physician preceptors. Training sites during the clinical year are located throughout Pennsylvania and in other states. Students are expected to relocate during the clinical phase and are responsible for all associated financial costs, including transportation and living expenses.
The program is intensely challenging, both intellectually and physically, and requires stamina as well as personal and financial sacrifice on the part of the students. The program demands a high degree of integrity, self-sufficiency, motivation, and self-discipline, and highly developed study skills.
The Physician Assistant program utilizes electronic documentation and communications; therefore, all students are required to have laptop computers with Web access capability.
Contact the Physician Assistant Program for more information on the sequencing for the part-time option.
Core Requirements | ||
PA 540 | Clinical Anatomy | 5.0 |
PA 542 | Patient Communication | 2.0 |
PA 543 | Ethical Issues in Physician Assistant Practice | 2.0 |
PA 544 | Clinical Assessment | 5.0 |
PA 545 | Physician Assistant Practice | 1.0 |
PA 546 | Health Policy for Physician Assistant Practice | 2.0 |
PA 547 | Evidence Based Medicine for Physician Assistants | 3.0 |
PA 548 | Principles of Medical Science I | 2.0 |
PA 549 | Principles of Medical Science II | 2.0 |
PA 550 | Principles of Medical Science III | 2.0 |
PA 551 | Pharmacology and Therapeutics I | 3.0 |
PA 552 | Pharmacology and Therapeutics II | 2.0 |
PA 553 | Pharmacology and Therapeutics III | 2.0 |
PA 554 | Biopsychosocial Issues in Patient Care | 5.0 |
PA 556 | Clinical Medicine I | 5.0 |
PA 557 | Clinical Medicine II | 5.0 |
PA 558 | Topics in Clinical Practice | 5.0 |
PA 559 | Clinical Skills I | 2.0 |
PA 560 | Clinical Skills II | 2.0 |
PA 561 | Clinical Skills III | 4.0 |
Competency Assessment + | 0.0-2.0 | |
Clinical Assessment Competency | ||
Competency for Clinical Training | ||
Clinical Year Rotation Courses * | ||
PA 629 | Internal Medicine Rotation | 5.0 |
PA 630 | Pediatrics Rotation | 5.0 |
PA 631 | Women's Health Rotation | 5.0 |
PA 632 | Behavioral Medicine Rotation | 5.0 |
PA 633 | Surgery Rotation | 5.0 |
PA 634 | Emergency Medicine Rotation | 5.0 |
Practicum | ||
PA 635 | Primary Care Practicum I | 10.0 |
PA 637 | Primary Care Practicum II | 10.0 |
Capstone Experiences | ||
PA 636 | Graduate Project I | 3.0 |
PA 638 | Graduate Project II | 3.0 |
Total Credits | 117.0-119.0 |
Sample Plan of Study
Full-time Plan of Study
First Year | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
PA 540 | 5.0 | PA 547 | 3.0 | PA 549 | 2.0 | PA 546 | 2.0 |
PA 542 | 2.0 | PA 548 | 2.0 | PA 552 | 2.0 | PA 550 | 2.0 |
PA 543 | 2.0 | PA 551 | 3.0 | PA 554 | 5.0 | PA 553 | 2.0 |
PA 544 | 5.0 | PA 556 | 5.0 | PA 557 | 5.0 | PA 558 | 5.0 |
PA 545 | 1.0 | PA 559 | 2.0 | PA 560 | 2.0 | PA 561 | 4.0 |
15 | 15 | 16 | 15 | ||||
Second Year | |||||||
Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
Clinical Phase* | PA 636 | 3.0 | Rotation V | 5.0 | PA 635 | 10.0 | |
Rotation I | 5.0 | Rotation III | 5.0 | Rotation VI | 5.0 | PA 638 | 3.0 |
Rotation II | 5.0 | Rotation IV | 5.0 | ||||
10 | 13 | 10 | 13 | ||||
Third Year | |||||||
Fall | Credits | ||||||
PA 637 | 10.0 | ||||||
10 | |||||||
Total Credits 117 |
*Clinical Year Rotation Courses | ||
The sequencing of the six clinical rotations will vary for individual students, but all students must take all six rotations. | ||
PA 629 | Internal Medicine Rotation | 5.0 |
PA 630 | Pediatrics Rotation | 5.0 |
PA 631 | Women's Health Rotation | 5.0 |
PA 632 | Behavioral Medicine Rotation | 5.0 |
PA 633 | Surgery Rotation | 5.0 |
PA 634 | Emergency Medicine Rotation | 5.0 |
Part-time Plan of Study
First Year (Part-Time) | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
PA 542 | 2.0 | PA 546 | 2.0 | PA 554 | 5.0 | VACATION | |
PA 543 | 2.0 | PA 547 | 3.0 | ||||
PA 545 | 1.0 | ||||||
5 | 5 | 5 | 0 | ||||
Second Year (Part-Time) | |||||||
Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
PA 540 | 5.0 | PA 548 | 2.0 | PA 549 | 2.0 | PA 550 | 2.0 |
PA 544 | 5.0 | PA 551 | 3.0 | PA 552 | 2.0 | PA 553 | 2.0 |
PA 556 | 5.0 | PA 557 | 5.0 | PA 558 | 5.0 | ||
PA 559 | 2.0 | PA 560 | 2.0 | PA 561 | 4.0 | ||
10 | 12 | 11 | 13 | ||||
Third Year (Part-Time) | |||||||
Fall | Credits | Winter | Credits | Spring | Credits | Summer | Credits |
Clinical Phase* | PA 636 | 3.0 | Rotation V | 5.0 | PA 635 | 10.0 | |
Rotation I | 5.0 | Rotation III | 5.0 | Rotation VI | 5.0 | PA 638 | 3.0 |
Rotation II | 5.0 | Rotation IV | 5.0 | ||||
10 | 13 | 10 | 13 | ||||
Fourth Year (Part-Time) | |||||||
Fall | Credits | ||||||
PA 637 | 10.0 | ||||||
10 | |||||||
Total Credits 117 |
*Clinical Year Rotation Courses | ||
The sequencing of the six clinical rotations will vary for individual students, but all students must take all six rotations. | ||
PA 629 | Internal Medicine Rotation | 5.0 |
PA 630 | Pediatrics Rotation | 5.0 |
PA 631 | Women's Health Rotation | 5.0 |
PA 632 | Behavioral Medicine Rotation | 5.0 |
PA 633 | Surgery Rotation | 5.0 |
PA 634 | Emergency Medicine Rotation | 5.0 |