http://www.rit.edu/healthsciences/undergraduate-programs/physician-assistant/

Program overview

The physician assistant program focuses on primary care for patients. Physician assistants provide diagnostic and therapeutic patient care in conjunction with a supervising physician. They perform tasks that include: eliciting medical histories, conducting physical examinations, ordering laboratory and radiological testing, diagnosing common illnesses, determining treatment, giving medical advice, counseling and educating patients, promoting wellness and disease prevention, assisting in surgery, and casting and suturing.

Physician assistant duties vary depending on the state and specialty in which they practice. In most states, including New York, physician assistants may prescribe medication. Examples of specialties include (but are not limited to): internal medicine, family medicine, emergency medicine, geriatrics, pediatrics, obstetrics/gynecology, psychiatry, general surgery, orthopedics, neurosurgery, and neonatology. Clinical rotations (internships) during students’ senior year provide the opportunity to explore these varied disciplines.

Curriculum

The physician assistant program is divided into the pre-professional phase (years 1 and 2), which includes course work in the sciences, mathematics, and liberal arts; and the professional phase, (years 3, 4, 5), which features didactic medical education and culminates in clinical rotations in which students apply their knowledge in the medical field in a series of rotations through various disciplines of medicine.

Accelerated dual degree

The physician assistant program is now offered as a five-year BS/MS degree, enabling students to earn both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree. Students entering the program in fall 2011 will begin their studies under the new format.

Clinical internship

Clinical rotations include a five-week experience in various disciplines of medicine, providing students with the opportunity to apply the basic principles of medicine to hospital-based and ambulatory patient care settings. Students are assigned to a primary preceptor (physician/physician assistant) and are exposed to a wide variety of acute and chronic medical problems. The emphasis is on data gathering, physical examination, differential diagnosis, patient management, maintenance of medical records, performance of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, and the provision of patient education and counseling. Mandatory rotations are in fields of inpatient medicine, family medicine, geriatrics, orthopedics, emergency medicine, OB/GYN, pediatrics, general surgery, and psychiatry. Students also are able to select one elective rotation, which enables them to customize their experience according to their medical area of interest.

Accreditation

The professional phase (years 3, 4, and 5) of the physician assistant program is fully accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA).

Admission requirements

In addition to the university’s general admission procedures, the physician assistant program requires the completion of a supplemental data packet, application, and successful completion of an admission interview (by invitation). For more information regarding these supplemental requirements, please contact the Office of Undergraduate Admissions or refer to the Undergraduate Admission section of this bulletin. It also is important to note that the minimum grade-point average for acceptance into the physician assistant program is 3.0 (on the basis of a 4.0 maximum) for both high school and transfer students. In order to graduate from the program, a GPA of 2.8 or better must be maintained.

Transfer admission

Qualified transfer students are accepted, on a space available basis, into the program. Prior health care experience and/or shadowing are strongly recommended. During the transition of the program from a BS to a BS/MS, RIT will continue to accept a limited number of transfer students into the second and third years of the four-year BS program. Transcript evaluations and rendering of transfer credit are addressed at the time of admission only. Anatomy and physiology courses must be taken within the last five years prior to matriculation to be eligible for transfer into the program. All pre-professional course work must be completed to continue on, or to be considered for entry, into the professional phase of the program. Please contact the Office of Undergraduate Admissions for information on transfer requirements.

Additional information

Advanced placement

In the pre-professional phase, advanced placement (AP) credit for liberal arts courses is evaluated and approved by the College of Liberal Arts. AP credit for calculus, statistics, and university electives are awarded, as applicable, within the program. AP credit is not accepted for biology and chemistry as course substitutions, but university elective credit is awarded for these courses, as applicable. Advanced placement or credit for experiential learning is not awarded for courses in the professional phase of the program.