Physician Assistant
Heidi Miller, Program Director
http://www.rit.edu/cos/medical/physician_assistant.html
The physician assistant program focuses on primary care and awards a bachelor of science degree upon completion. The pre-professional phase (years 1 and 2) involves core courses in basic sciences, mathematics, and the liberal arts. The professional phase (years 3 and 4) is fully accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission for the Physician Assistant, Inc. (ARC-PA) and encompasses 21 months. Students participate in the program during the summer between these years. The last two years of the program include nine months of clinical course work and 12 months of clinical rotations. Qualified transfer students are accepted into any one of the first three years of 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 PA program.
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, general surgery, orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, and neonatology. Clinical rotations during students’ senior year provide the opportunity to explore these specialty areas.
In addition to RIT’s general admission procedures, the physician assistant program requires 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 at (585) 475-6631. 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.
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 and 4) of the physician assistant program is fully accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA).
Physician assistant, BS degree, typical course sequence |
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| Qtr. Cr. Hrs. | ||
First Year |
General Biology 1001-201, 202, 203 | 9 |
| General Biology Lab 1001-205, 206, 207 | 3 | |
| Calculus for Management Science 1016-226 | 4 | |
| General and Analytical Chemistry I, II, III 1011-215, 216, 217 | 10 | |
| Chemical Principles I, II Lab 1011-205, 206 | 2 | |
| General and Analytical Chemistry III Lab 1011-227 | 1 | |
| Liberal Arts* | 16 | |
| First-Year Enrichment 1105-051, 052 | 2 | |
| Wellness Education† | 0 | |
Second Year |
Anatomy and Physiology 1026-350, 360 | 10 |
| Data Analysis I 1016-319 | 4 | |
| Medical Microbiology 1032-406 | 4 | |
| University-wide Electives | 12 | |
| Liberal Arts* | 20 | |
Third Year |
Pathophysiology I, II 1032- 424, 425 | 8 |
| Law and Medicine 1032-330 | 2 | |
| Physician Assistant Seminar 1032-210 | 1 | |
| Society and Patient Care 1032-559 | 3 | |
| Behavioral Medicine 1032-200 | 2 | |
| Patient History and Physical Exam I, II, III 1032-401, 402, 403 | 6 | |
| Clinical Skills 1032-410 | 1 | |
| Clinical Pharmacology I, II, III 1032-420, 421, 422 | 8 | |
| Clinical Diagnostic Imaging 1032-430 | 1 | |
| Clinical Medicine I, II, III 1032-440, 441, 442 | 12 | |
| Clinical Rotation I 1032-490 | 12 | |
Fourth Year |
Clinical Rotation II, III, IV 1032-491, 492, 493‡ | 36 |
| Total Quarter Credit Hours | 189 | |
* Please see Liberal Arts General Education Requirements for more information. † Please see Wellness Education Requirement for more information. ‡ Fourth-year clinical rotations are completed at various hospitals and ambulatory health care settings approved for training physician assistants. |
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