Physician Assistant

D’Youville’s highly regarded physician assistant program prepares students to be exemplary clinicians with the highest professional standards.

Overview

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, in the majority of the U.S. territories, and in 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 demand for physician assistants continues to grow, making this profession an exciting career choice.

Physician assistants are nationally certified and state-licensed medical professionals who practice medicine under the supervision of a physician.

D'Youville's Physician Assistant program was the first program of its kind in Western New York. At D'Youville, in just four years you can earn a combined bachelor's and master's degree in physician assistant (BS+MS) through our ARC-PA-accredited program. Additionally, qualified students may be eligible for direct-entry into the master’s portion of the program.

Meet Our Physician Assistant Faculty

The D'Youville Physician Assistant Department is accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA). 

More about ARC-PA can be found on arc-pa.org/.

Accreditation Status

At its September 2021 meeting, the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc.(ARC-PA) placed the D’Youville University Physician Assistant Program sponsored by D’Youville University on Accreditation-Probation status until its next review. The next review is currently scheduled to occur in September 2024.

Probation accreditation is a temporary accreditation status initially of not less than two years. However, that period may be extended by the ARC-PA for up to an additional two years if the ARC-PA finds that the program is making substantial progress toward meeting all applicable standards but requires additional time to come into full compliance. Probation accreditation status is granted, at the sole discretion of the ARC-PA when a program holding an accreditation status of Accreditation-Provisional or Accreditation-Continued does not, in the judgment of the ARC-PA, meet the Standards or when the capability of the program to provide an acceptable educational experience for its students is threatened. Once placed on probation, a program that fails to comply with accreditation requirements in a timely manner, as specified by the ARC-PA, may be scheduled for a focused site visit and is subject to having its accreditation withdrawn.

The program’s accreditation history can be viewed on the ARC-PA website here:  Accreditation History

Specific questions regarding the Program and its plans should be directed to the Program Director and/or the appropriate institutional official(s).

Degree Program

The physician assistant department offers two pathways to obtain a physician assistant degree: a 4-year combined B.S./M.S. degree, and a direct-entry, 2-year M.S. degree. Eligibility for the respective programs is determined based on the student's individual qualifications and prior academic accomplishments. Graduates are eligible for the Physician Assistant National Certification Examination (PANCE) developed and administered by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA).

Prospective Students 

Current Students 

 

D'Youville University PA Lab

Hear From Our Alumni

Play video: Physician Assistant Alumni Interview

Considering becoming a Physician Assistant? See how D'Youville University's PA program helped students like Tyler achieve their goals.

Mission

The mission of the D'Youville Physician Assistant department is to prepare exemplary clinicians with the highest professional standards.

PA Lab

Program Goals

The D'Youville Physician Assistant Department measures its success as a program at achieving its goals by how well it meets the standards set forth in the mission statement.

  1. Train students to serve patients across the lifespan, promote health and wellness in primary care, and engage in interprofessional collaboration.
  2. Train students to serve diverse patient populations.
  3. Equip students with the knowledge and skills necessary to become exemplary clinicians.
  4. Our students will demonstrate professionalism across multiple areas of clinical practice.
  5. Our students will demonstrate competence in medical and evidenced based research through scholarly activity.

Student Outcomes

D'Youville University Physician Assistant Program Goals

D’Youville University Physician Assistant Program Competencies

PA student with otoscope

Program Policies

The following are select policies of the Physician Assistant Program Policies

For detailed course information and complete academic policies and procedures please refer to the D’Youville Academic Catalog

 

D'Youville University_Physician Assistant Lab (3)

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