Physician Assistant (BS + MS)

No. However, it is very important that applicants understand the role and function of a physician assistant. Therefore, if shadowing would strengthen the applicant's knowledge in this light, it is encouraged. The program does not arrange shadowing experiences for applicants. 

The 80 hours of direct patient care experience can be completed through paid employment or volunteer work, but the point of this requirement is to ensure that applicants have had exposure to patients, preferably in a clinical setting. This means that your activities should include one-on-one interactions with patients. 

Shadowing: Shadowing a Physician Assistant will count for up to 24 hours of the required 80 direct patient care hours.

Acceptable direct patient care: Transporting patients, helping with meals, leading activity times.

Excellent direct patient care: Participation in medical procedures, patient assessments, leading/assisting patients in therapy or daily activities such as dressing or eating, taking vitals, obtaining medical histories or previous work history as a paramedic, EMT, nurse, medical scribe, or other healthcare provider.

Examples of activities that do NOT count as direct patient care include:  Any clerical work, making beds, restocking shelves, or any other type of work that does not involve talking with and actively engaging with patients, etc.

If you have additional questions about what constitutes direct patient care, feel free to contact the admissions office at 716-829-7600.

Documentation of at least 80 completed hours of direct patient interaction either through volunteer activities or employment activities to be submitted prior to the start of the didactic year of the program (year 3).

Yes and no. While students do not get any "bonus points" for already having a bachelor's degree, a student who has a bachelor's degree in a science discipline such as Chemistry or Biology, has already proven that she/he is capable of handling a difficult science curriculum. A bachelor's degree in a non-science program, however, is given no extra merit over any other candidate. Whether or not a candidate has a bachelor's degree, the committee will be looking for the number of college level science courses a candidate has taken and whether or not she/he did well in these courses.

In short, a bachelor's degree will not necessarily improve a candidate's standing in the application pool, but completing several college level science courses with solid grades, may help improve a candidate's application profile.

No there are no prerequisite courses, but most of our applicants have demonstrated academic achievement of a 3.0 or higher overall GPA as well as a strong foundation and in their science coursework. Applicants should review the admission criteria tab for further details.

Yes.

Transfer Students

D'Youville is now accepting applications from transfer students to the physician assistant program using the CASPA application. Transfer students to the PA program should not complete the D'Youville College online application.

High School Students (First time Freshman)

High school (first time in college) students should submit their PA application via the D'Youville online application.

No. As applicants are accepted on a competitive, space available basis, not all applicants satisfying minimum academic requirements will be admitted into the program.

Completed applications are reviewed from May to October 1. Invitations to the interview will be sent to the email address you used on your application, and a letter will also be sent to your mailing address. Interviews are conducted in the fall.

Expect to be on campus for a few hours. You will be introduced as a group to the PA faculty and staff by the Department Chair and asked to fill out a brief questionnaire that will be used with the rest of your application information during your interview. You will be given an opportunity to meet with the faculty, staff and many of our current students over coffee, either before or after your interview and will also have a chance to go on a tour of the campus with a current PA student.

Applicants are interviewed in groups of three with a panel of two to three interviewers. The interprofessional interview panel consists of PA/DYC faculty and community medical providers. The three applicants are not competing against one another and the interview session is designed to be collegial and informative, rather than competitive.

Most applicants are notified of the department’s decision within a few weeks after the final scheduled interview date. We will notify you in writing of the decision, and if offered admission, you will be notified of your placement in a class year and receive a transfer credit summary.

It varies for everyone, but a few things are typical; the full program is 4 ½ years and students graduate with a combined bachelors/masters degree. Transfer students are generally placed into the first two years of the program. Certain coursework must be taken at D'Youville prior to starting the didactic phase (these classes include biochemistry, pathophysiology & human gross anatomy & lab).

The majority of students are required to complete PA Department prerequisites at D'Youville College and therefore do not transfer directly to the Didactic phase from outside the college. Placement in any graduating class is dependent upon seat availability.

The D’Youville PA program’s curriculum is administered in a sequential fashion with each subsequent semester of coursework building upon the previous one. Consequently, the program does not consider applicants for advanced placement.

Your official transfer credit statement and class year will be determined if you are offered admission to the PA program. An earned grade of B- or better in all science courses is required (courses will transfer if they are less than six years old at the time of acceptance into the department). You can get an idea of what courses may transfer by using our online course equivalency tool.

Follow the steps to take our our Accepted Student page. 

Yes. Many of our students already have a bachelor’s degree. Your curriculum requirements will only include pre-requisite coursework that did not transfer or that you have not yet taken and the didactic phase of the program. Students who have a bachelor’s will have the general education requirements necessary for a bachelor’s degree waived. Depending on the number of seats available, having a bachelor’s does not guarantee acceleration in the program, however.

Physician assistants are nationally certified and state-licensed medical professionals who practice medicine under the supervision of a physician. PAs responsibilities include but are not limited to conducting physical exams, diagnosing and treating illnesses, ordering and interpreting laboratory and radiological tests, counseling on preventive health care measures, and assisting in surgery.

PAs can write prescriptions in all 50 states, the majority of the U.S. territories and the uniformed services. Within the physician-PA team, physician assistants’ specific duties depend on the setting in which they work, their specialty, and their level of experience.

The training you receive at D’Youville will prepare you to work with physicians in all clinical disciplines in a wide variety of clinical environments. In fact, because physician assistants are in such high demand, many discover they can take their pick of clinical placements, allowing for substantial career flexibility and mobility.

While many of our graduates go into clinical practice, others enter advanced academic programs in order to pursue careers in research and teaching in both private and public organizations. These students typically pursue post-professional degrees such as doctor of science (D.Sc.), doctor of education (EdD), or doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees. If you choose to pursue this path you can rest assured that the rigorous academic, research, and clinical work you’ll complete in our PA program will provide you with a solid foundation for advanced study and practice.

Graduates who want to take their education one step further can also enter specialized residency programs that provide intensive training in specialties such as surgery, emergency medicine, pediatrics, and rural health. With the demand for physician assistants growing at such a rapid pace and showing no signs of slowing down — the opportunities for well trained, motivated, forward-thinking physician assistants like our graduates are limitless.

Changing demographics and the expansion of the healthcare system in the United States have created a strong demand for healthcare professionals, and physician assistants are one of the groups in greatest demand.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that jobs for physician assistants will increase 37% through 2026, an increase the Bureau of Labor Statistics calls "much faster than average." This kind of growth hasn’t gone unnoticed by experts in the healthcare industry:

• US News lists physician assistant is the #1 best profession in healthcare in their rankings of best healthcare professions for 2019.
• In Forbes 10 Flexible Jobs with Big Potential in 2018, the high earning potential and job outlook lead to the physician assistant profession earning the top spot.
• Monster.com declares physician assistant to be the second fastest growing job in healthcare in 2018.

In fact, because physician assistants are in such high demand, many discover they can take their pick of clinical field of practice, allowing for substantial career flexibility and mobility.  In addition, physician assistants earn generous salaries and benefits, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics reporting that the median salary for physician assistants in 2018 (the last year that figures were available) was $108,610 per year. 

For more information about the job outlook for physician assistants, visit the Bureau of Labor Statistics website.