Mission
Definition of a PA
Program Description
Degrees
Accreditation
PANCE Results
Estimated Cost of Attendance

Greetings from the Program Director
As the 21st century begins, the Midwestern University Physician Assistant Program is moving optimistically into a new millennium. Our progress since inception in 1992 has been phenomenal—we have educated over 700 highly competent physician assistants who are providing health care services in a variety of settings, all across the United States.

The Midwestern University PA program selects highly qualified applicants who wish to participate in a challenging educational process. The training of physician assistants is approached very seriously by our faculty; students who are accepted into our program must share these convictions. We believe that providing health care to people is a privilege that must be earned—it is not bestowed capriciously.

Passion, drive, and commitment summarize the principles of Midwestern University's community of health care professionals. If you feel passionate about becoming a physician assistant, and have a strong drive to succeed, the Midwestern University PA Program has the commitment to help you achieve your goal.

On behalf of the Physician Assistant Program, I thank you for your interest in Midwestern University.

Alyson Smith, MS, PA-C
Program Director, Physician Assistant Program
Downers Grove Campus

Mission
The mission of the Midwestern University (MWU) Physician Assistant Program is:

• To create an educational environment that enables individuals to become competent physician assistants who possess the clinical skills to contribute positively to the dynamic health care needs of society.
• To stimulate involvement in the professional community by assuming leadership roles and to uphold the mission of the College of Health Sciences and Midwestern University.

Definition of a Physician Assistant
Definition of a Physician Assistant
(Approved by the American Academy of Physician Assistants’ House of Delegates, 1995.)
“Physician Assistants (PAs) are health professionals licensed to practice medicine with physician supervision. Physician Assistants are qualified upon graduation from an accredited physician assistant educational program and/or certification by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants. Within the physician/PA relationship, Physician Assistants exercise autonomy in medical decision making and provide a broad range of diagnostic and therapeutic services. The clinical role of Physician Assistants includes primary and specialty care in medical and surgical practice settings in rural and urban areas. Physician Assistant practice is centered on patient care and may include educational, research, and administrative activities.”

Program Description
The Physician Assistant Program offers professional education at the master’s level for students who aspire to become physician assistants. Educational tracks have been developed to accommodate two types of qualified applicants: the full-time, master’s track for first-time PA students, and the part-time, master’s completion track for graduates of accredited PA programs. The master’s track provides students with the academic and clinical training necessary to gain certification and to practice as competent, reliable extenders of the licensed physician.

The professional curriculum leading to a master’s degree is a full-time professional program that offers students the opportunity to earn the respective degree and satisfy the eligibility requirements for the PA national certifying examination. The roles and specific clinical duties and responsibilities that graduates can expect to experience will likely vary depending on their chosen career path. MWU PA graduates are expected to have the ability to competently perform patient histories and physicals, gather pertinent patient data, order and interpret diagnostic studies, recognize common diseases and disorders, choose appropriate therapeutic modalities, perform surgical procedures, manage emergency life-threatening conditions, promote health through counseling, education, and disease prevention, and demonstrate interpersonal skills consistent with the physician assistant role.

The second-year clinical program is delivered at affiliated clinical sites and facilities. These sites are geographically and demographically diverse, reflecting the broad scope of practice opportunities that exist for PAs in the health care delivery system of this country. Sites include ambulatory practice settings, small and large office-based group practices, community and migrant health centers, in-patient settings involving large and small hospitals as well as federal and state facilities. These sites are in urban, suburban, and rural communities as well as community and migrant health centers located throughout Illinois (including federally designated HPSAs and MUAs). In addition, the program has established formal clinical site affiliations with clinical facilities and practitioners in a number of other states. As part of the clinical education phase of the program, students enrolled in the MWU Physician Assistant Program will likely be assigned to clinical rotations that reflect this geographic and demographic diversity.

Degree
Master of Medical Science (M.M.S.) in Physician Assistant Studies
The goal of the PA educational program is to provide an academic and clinical training environment that will prepare the physician assistant to be certified and have the required knowledge and experience to perform his/her professional role as an extender to the practicing physician in a competent and reliable manner. The specific objectives of this program are as follows:

• To teach the basics of biomedical and clinical knowledge and technical skills at a level that is required for students to be competent PAs. The emphasis is on primary care practice;
• To provide an ample experiential foundation that prepares students to perform the tasks, functions, and duties of a physician assistant in diverse practice settings;
• To mold students as professionals, instilling an appropriate professional demeanor and sensibility and imparting an understanding of the nature and impact of mental and physical disease in patients, which will enable students to respond appropriately to patient problems in both ambulatory and hospital settings;
• To cultivate the fundamental ethical and moral attitudes, principles, and behaviors that are essential to acquiring and sustaining the confidence of colleagues, other health care professionals in the practices setting, patients, and the community;
• To broaden the base and depth of biomedical, scientific, and clinical knowledge and skills imparted to physician assistants by providing a foundation conducive to competent scholarly inquiry and analysis;
• To earn the Master of Medical Science in Physician Assistant Studies, students must complete an approved course of study leading to this degree. This master's degree program is designed to broaden the student's scientific knowledge and clinical skills and create a foundation for lifelong scholarly inquiry and anaylsis.

Accreditation
The Midwestern University Physician Assistant Program was previously accredited by the Committee on Allied Health Education and Accreditation, by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs, and currently is by its successor agency, the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant. This accreditation status enables graduating students to take the national certifying examination administered by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA). The Midwestern University PA Program is a member of the Physician Assistant Education Association, the national organization representing PA educational programs.

Midwestern University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission/A Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (HLC/NCA), 30 North LaSalle St., Suite 2400, Chicago, IL 60602.

Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination (PANCE) Results

Estimated Cost of Attendance