Pre-Physician Assistant Studies Major

Pre-Physician Assistant Studies preparation is a four-year course of study leading to a baccalaureate degree and the completion of required Sacred Heart University Physician Assistant (PA) Studies prerequisite courses. Pre-Physician Assistant in itself is not an undergraduate major at Sacred Heart University. The Sacred Heart University (SHU) Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS) program is a 27-month program that includes required summer course attendance, graduate-level coursework, supervised clinical experiences, and a Master’s Capstone project. Applicants must have a conferred baccalaureate degree in the discipline of their choice, but a Health Science or Biology degree is preferred as it offers students a solid science foundation. Additional prerequisites includes a minimum of 1,000 hours of paid, direct hands-on patience care experience. All required prerequisites must be completed by the October 1 application deadline to determine admission status and eligibility for enrollment in the SHU MPAS program. For additional details regarding SHU’s MPAS program, please refer to the Sacred Heart University Graduate Catalog or contact the Office of Graduate Admissions.

Faculty

TERESA THETFORD, DHSc , MS, PA-C

Department Chair, Program Director, and Clinical Associate Professor

REYNOLD JAGLAL, MBA, PA-C

Director of Clinical Education and Clinical Assistant Professor

ERIC NEMEC, PHARMd

Director of Research and Assessment and Clinical Associate Professor

ADAM OLSEN, PA-C

Principal Faculty, Instructor

HARRY POMERANZ, MS, PA-C

Director of Didactic Education and Clinical Associate Professor

HENRY YOON, MD

Medical Director and Clinical Associate Professor

Program Overview

Sacred Heart University Graduate Program in Physician Assistant Studies is for candidates with an earned Bachelor’s Degree. The program will prepare our graduates for generalist practice as a physician assistant (PA). Graduates will draw from program didactic and experiential learning to provide quality, evidence-based, patient-centered healthcare to persons of various ages and in varied settings within interprofessional teams.

The SHU Master of Physician Assistant Studies Program is a 27-month program that will offer a 12-consecutive month didactic phase, a 15-month clinical phase that includes a Master’s Capstone Project. Clinical rotations are planned as ten 5-week clinical rotations that will provide each student with over 2,000 hours of supervised direct patient care experiences.

The MPAS program will prepare individuals to practice medicine with the supervision of a licensed physician, in compliance with the PA Profession Competencies described and accepted by the profession. Students will be educated to provide compassionate, respectful, high-quality healthcare, and have proficiency in the competencies as described by the profession PA Competencies. Graduates of the program are eligible to sit for the Physician Assistant National Certification Examination (PANCE). After successfully passing the PA National Certification Exam, graduates of the SHU MPAS Program will qualify to work in any of the 50 states as a certified PA (PA-C). The PA-C must then apply for and obtain state licensure in the state they wish to work.

Program Accreditation

The ARC-PA has granted Accreditation-Provisional status to the Sacred Heart University Physician Assistant Program sponsored by Sacred Heart University .

Accreditation-Provisional is an accreditation status granted when the plans and resource allocation, if fully implemented as planned, of a proposed program that has not yet enrolled students appear to demonstrate the program’s ability to meet the ARC-PA Standards or when a program holding Accreditation-Provisional status appears to demonstrate continued progress in complying with the Standards as it prepares for the graduation of the first class (cohort) of students.

Accreditation-Provisional does not ensure any subsequent accreditation status. It is limited to no more than five years from matriculation of the first class.

For information about accreditation, please visit the ARC-PA website at www.arc-pa.org.

Background Check

Successful completion of the MPAS program includes satisfactory completion of the clinical education component of the curriculum. The majority of clinical sites now require students to complete a criminal background check prior to participating in clinical education placements. Some facilities may also require fingerprinting and/or drug screening. State licensure laws may also restrict or prohibit those with criminal convictions from obtaining a professional license to practice following graduation. Thus, students with criminal convictions or backgrounds may not be able to obtain required clinical education experience(s) thereby failing to meet the academic standards of the Program.

It is therefore the policy of PA Program that all admitted students enrolled in the MPAS Program must consent, submit to, and satisfactorily complete a criminal background check as a condition of matriculation. Matriculation will not be final until the completion of the criminal background check with results deemed acceptable to the program director or MPAS Director of Clinical Education.

All expenses associated with the criminal background check are the responsibility of the student. Students who do not consent to the required background check, refuse to provide information necessary to conduct the background check, or provide false or misleading information in regards to the background check will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including refusal of matriculation or dismissal from the program.

Criminal background information is strictly confidential, for use only by authorized MPAS Program faculty and/or administrative staff, and shall be retained only until the student graduates or is dismissed from the program.

Graduate Admissions Requirements

Sacred Heart University (SHU) Master of Physician Assistant Studies seeks students who are mature, possess excellent communication skills, are team-oriented, and demonstrate intellectual capacity and integrity.

The SHU Physician Assistant (PA) Program uses a holistic admissions process. This is a process by which applicant’s cognitive skills, such as GPA, are balanced with non-cognitive variables including but not limited to commitment to service, cultural sensitivity, empathy, capacity for growth, emotional resilience, strength of character, and interpersonal skills. This approach encourages diversity and the equitable evaluation of well-rounded applicants. Witzburg, R. A., & Sondheimer, H. M. (2013). Holistic review: Shaping the medical profession one applicant at a time. New England Journal of Medicine, 368, 1565-1567.

Applicants must use the Central Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA). All prerequisites and requirements must be completed by the SHU admissions deadline of October 1.

All applicants, including graduates from foreign institutions, must hold either U.S. Citizenship or Permanent Residence status at the time of application. Applicants with pending citizenship or temporary residency will not be considered.

Sacred Heart University Physician Assistant Studies does not participate in rolling admissions.

Degree Prerequisites

An earned baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college or university, or an equivalent institution as determined by Sacred Heart University, is required to be conferred by the SHU admissions deadline (October 1).

Applicants educated outside the U.S. must utilize a transcript evaluation service to verify their degree and coursework. The academic record must show credits and grades equivalent to those given by U.S. institutions of higher learning.

Coursework Prerequisites

The following courses must be completed at a regionally accredited institution in the United States, with a grade of “C” or better.

16 semester units of Biological Science courses*, which must include:

Microbiology w/lab
Human Anatomy w/lab
Human Physiology w/lab
Remaining units can be any upper division college-level human biological science course with lab

One course of EACH of the following:

Organic Chemistry I with lab or Biochemistry with lab (Biochemistry preferred)
Statistics (Biostatistics preferred)
General Psychology

Advanced Placement (AP) credits will be accepted for Psychology and Statistics.

Highly recommended courses, but not required:

Human Genetics
Abnormal Psychology
Biostatistics
Biochemistry
Sociology or Cultural Anthropology

*SHU PA Studies accepts prerequisite lecture courses completed online but does not accept labs completed online. SHU PA Studies requires that all labs be completed in a classroom setting. Virtual labs are not considered an acceptable format. Some online courses offer an online lecture with labs completed in a classroom setting; this is an acceptable format.

SHU PA Studies does not accept transfer credits, and does not accept applications for challenge examinations. We do not accept previous experience or medical training for advanced placement in the PA Studies program. All students are expected to complete all didactic and clinical elements of the PA Studies program.

Minimum Requirements

Overall GPA of 2.8
All prerequisite courses: Cumulative GPA of 3.0
A minimum of 1,000 hours of verifiable, paid, hands-on (direct) patient care experience in the U.S. healthcare system. Healthcare experience will be evaluated based on the type of work and level of patient interaction

Examples of paid, hands-on (direct) patient experience includes but is not limited to:

Back Office Medical Assistant (MA)
Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) or Patient Care Assistant (PCA)
Emergency Department Technician
Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)
Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN/LVN)
Medical/ER Scribe
Military medic or corpsman
Paramedic
Physical Therapy Aide
Radiology Technician
Respiratory Therapist

Highly competitive applicants will also possess the following:

Participation in community service or volunteer work
Greater than 2,000 hours of paid, hands-on (direct) patient care experience completed in the U.S healthcare system
Overall GPA 3.0 or greater
Completed college-level science course credit hours of 80 hours or more

Additional consideration will be given to applicants with current Connecticut resident status, or applicants with verifiable military service. SHU participates in the Yellow Ribbon Program: http://www.sacredheart.edu/officesservices/registrar/vabenefits/yellowribbonprogram/

Applicants with an earned bachelor’s or master’s degree from Sacred Heart University or a current Stamford Health Medical Group employee who meet all minimum requirements and Technical Standards will be granted an in-person interview.

Additional Requirements

Application through the Central Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA)
Three letters of reference: must include at least one letter from a work supervisor
Personal statement
Official college transcripts
Supplemental SHU Essay Questions completion (on CASPA)
Successful interview, by invitation only
Must meet all Technical Standards (see Graduate Catalog for Technical Standards, or visit http://www.sacredheart.edu/academics/collegeofhealthprofessions/academicprograms/physicianassistant/technicalstandards/)
Completion of criminal background check is required prior to starting the PA program

Test Scores

Scores from the Graduate Records Examination (GRE) are NOT required for admission to the SHU PA Program.
Applicants who have not earned a baccalaureate degree from a regionally-accredited institution in the U.S. must also submit official scores from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) regardless of the official language of the country in which the education took place, or the predominant language of the degree-granting institution. Minimum TOEFL scores accepted are:
- Reading 22/30
- Listening 22/30
- Speaking 26/30
- Writing 24/30

For updated program information, please visit http://www.sacredheart.edu/academics/collegeofhealthprofessions/academicprograms/physicianassistant/