Master of Physician Assistant Studies
Advance your career while improving the quality of patient care.
More than 40 years ago, borne out of a shortage of health care providers, Dr. Eugene Stead envisioned a new role within the medical profession - the Physician Assistant. This new healthcare professional would work in tandem with physicians to improve the efficiency of care and endeavor to enhance the overall patient experience.
Today, Physician Assistants (PAs) are licensed healthcare professionals.* PAs practice medicine with a physician's supervision working as a team. As part of their comprehensive responsibilities, PAs conduct physical exams, diagnose and treat illnesses, order and interpret tests, counsel on preventive healthcare, assist in surgery, and write prescriptions. Within the physician-PA relationship, physician assistants exercise autonomy in medical decision making and provide a broad range of diagnostic and therapeutic services. A PA's practice may also include education, research, and managerial/administrative services. Physician Assistants, while trained in general medicine, often specialize in emergency medicine, surgery, orthopedics, obstetrics, pediatrics and other specialties.
Students in the Franklin Pierce University Physician Assistant Program will attend classes in West Lebanon, New Hampshire. Our modern, spacious facility includes classrooms, seminar rooms, a computer lab and a clinical lab where students learn hands-on practical skills with state-of-the art training equipment. Clinical experience is a vital part of the program and will be served at sites throughout the country, with a focus on rural and underserved regions of Vermont and New Hampshire.
This will be a full-time day program designed to be completed in 27 calendar months. Graduates of the Master of Physician Assistant Studies Program will be skilled and compassionate clinicians, who partner with patients to promote health and wellness, diagnose and treat acute illnesses and manage chronic disease.
*If employed by the federal government, Physician Assistants are credentialed rather than licensed.
Accreditation
The Franklin Pierce University Master in Physician Assistant Studies (M.P.A.S.) Program has been awarded provisional accreditation by the Accreditation Review Commisssion on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA, 12000 Findley Road, Suite 240, Johns Creek, GA 30097, 770-476-1224, arc-pa.org). All students matriculating in a provisionally accredited program are eligible to sit for the National Certification Examination for Physician Assistants. Continuing accreditation status for a program is achieved only after a successful follow-up review and second site visit by ARC-PA. The next accreditation review for the Franklin Pierce P.A. program will take place in the spring of 2012.
Want to Know More?
Download the Master of Physician Assistant Studies program sheet for more information on program goals, prerequisites and coursework.
Contact
Physician Assistant Program
24 Airport Road, Suite 19
West Lebanon, NH 03784
603.298.6617
fax 603.899.4207
paprogram@franklinpierce.edu
PROGRAM FACULTY
Lisa Southwick, MPAS, PA-C
Director, Physician Assistant Studies
Scott Shipman, M.D., M.P.H.
Medical Director
Margery Bower, MPAS, PA-C
Assistant Professor
Wendy Pavnick, MPAS, PA-C
Assistant Professor
