Physician Assistant (PA)
What does a Physician Assistant (PA) do?
Physician Assistants (PAs) are medical providers, most with graduate-level education. They are licensed to diagnose and treat illness and disease and to provide medication for patients.
PAs work in physician offices, hospitals, and clinics in collaboration with a licensed physician.
Because of their advanced education in general medicine, modeled after physician education, PAs can treat patients with significant autonomy within the physician/PA relationship.
Physician Assistants, among other things, get the opportunity to take medical histories and perform physical exams, order and interpret laboratory tests, assist in surgery and set fractures, and counsel patients.
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What is the required preparation?
There is no required major for pre-PA students—students are welcome to explore their major options.
As a student completing an undergraduate degree, students will need to complete the prerequisite course requirements for admittance to PA school (see as well the prerequisites listed by the AAPA).
Review the most common prerequisite requirements and experiential learning suggestions below:
There is variability when it comes to course requirements and policies on AP credits for entrance to a PA program, so applicants are encouraged to explore their specific programs of interest and research their coursework expectations.
Finding a Program
To find a full list of PA programs with their respective requirements, review the PAEA resource map.
The typical physician assistant program takes two or three years to complete.
For information on the application process and how to prepare, visit the PAEA program guide below:
JWU Physician Assistant (PA) Articulation Agreement
URI graduates that meet the minimum requirements are eligible for an admissions interview with JWU’s PA Program.
Applicant Facts At a Glance:
3,120
average hours of patient care completed
90%
of all applicants with at least one (1) growth year
3.5+
competitive GPA level for all applicants