Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS)

Program Mission: To continue Emory & Henry College's legacy of excellence and service with an emphasis on changing lives, our Mission is: 

• To provide graduate-level education in an interdisciplinary environment that prepares our students for careers as PAs
• To foster professionalism among our students and graduates
• To foster critical thinking and life long learning. 

Program Goals:

• Provide resources to support students in adapting to and managing the rigors inherent to PA education
• Provide a curriculum and experience promoting competence of the clinical and technical skills of an entry-level Physician Assistant
• Foster a collaborative approach to work effectively in interdisciplinary patient-centered health care teams
• Encourage and support student professional and civic activities promoting the PA profession.

Requirements For Admission/Admission Policy:

• A bachelor's degree from an accredited institution will be required prior to matriculation. The degree can be from any field and does not need to be a specific science degree or pre-professional degree. Applicants who completed coursework from a college or university outside of the U.S. must submit a transcript evaluation from the World Education Services (WES) or Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE) to Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA) 

Prerequisite Coursework;

Listed below are courses required to be considered as a candidate for admission into the program. All courses must be completed at a regionally accredited college or university prior to matriculation. One semester credit hours(SCH) is equivalent to .67 quarter credit hours. AP courses or pass/fail curses without a letter grade reported on official transcripts and CLEP scores will not be accepted in place of prerequisites.

• Two semesters of Human Anatomy and Physiology with Labs (Total of 8 SCH). If Human Anatomy and Human Physiology are taken as separate courses, both must be with labs and, combined, must provide the complete study of the anatomy and physiology of all major human body systems. Exercise physiology coursework may not meet this requirement.
• Two semesters of Biology, each with labs (4 SH each for a minimum of 8 SCH combined in addition to the above A&P requirement)
• One semester of Genetics-with or without lab (3 SCH)
• Once semester of Chemistry with lab (4 SCH)
• One semester of Organic Chemistry with lab or Biochemistry with lab (4 SCH in addition to the above chemistry requirement)-biochemistry preferred. 
• One semester of Statistics or Biostatistics (3 SCH)
• One semester of Medical Terminology (must be at least 2 SCH)

Recommended Coursework:

• One semester of Psychology, with or without lab (3 SCH)
• One semester of Sociology or Cultural Anthropology or Medical Anthropology (3 SCH)
• One semester of English Composition (3 SCH)

Prerequisite Coursework Grade and GPA Requirements:

• All prerequisite courses must be completed with a grade of 'C' or higher and all applicants must have a cumulative Prerequisite Grade Point Average of 3.0 or higher
• All applicants must have a cumulative overall Grade Point Average of 3.0 or higher
• All applicants must have a cumulative overall Science Grade Point Average of 2.7 or higher (calculated by averaging CASPA-calculated overall science and BCP GPAs)

Other Admission Requirements:

All candidates must take the GRE - General Test and submit their official GRE scores to CASPA at the time of their application.  

• Please note that until your GPE is marked as official in CASPA we do not acknowledge the scores.
• MCAT scores are not accepted in place of GRE scores.
• The Program prefers a minimum of 25th percentile of higher for each GRE section to be competitive.
• GRE must be taken within five years of the date of application.

All applicants must complete a minimum of 300 hours of hands-on-direct patient care experience by the time of matriculation.* Applicants may submit an application after completing a minimum of 150 hours of direct patient contact experience but the remaining hours, up to the required 300, must be completed and verified by April 1, prior to student matriculation in May of that calendar year. Students who fail to complete the required 300 hours of direct patient contact hours by April1, prior to matriculation in May of that calendar year, will have their invitation for a set in the program revoked.

• Volunteer and Service-Work experience are acceptable.
• Medical scribe activities and other direct patient care activities (e.g. medical assistant, nursing assistant, dental assistant, radiology technician, mental health counselor) meet this requirement.
• Activities caring for a family member or relative do not meet this requirement.
• Activities caring for a single individual (e.g. personal care attendant) do not meet this requirement.
• Non hands-on direct patient care experience do not fulfill this requirement (e.g. pharmacy tech, unit secretary, front-office worker, shadowing experiences).

*Unfortunately, we are not able to assist students and applicants in obtaining their healthcare-related experiences.

• Applicants must complete a minimum of 20 hours of shadowing with a nationally certified and state licensed PA (PA-C) during direct patient care activities; must be completed by the time of application.
• Minimum of 100 hours of community service-related volunteer experience must be completed at the time of matriculation. Applicants may submit an application after completing a minimum of 50 hours of volunteer experience but the remaining hours, up to the required 100, must be completed and verified by April 1 prior to matriculation in May of that calendar year, will have their invitation for a seat in the program revoked.
• Shadowing hours cannot be included as volunteer experience.
• Rotation/Immersion experiences required as part of a healthcare certificate/degree program cannot be included as volunteer experience.
• Prior to matriculation, students must hold current certification in American Heart Association Basic Life Support (CPR and ECC) and must maintain continuous certification throughout the Program.
• Applicants must be fully proficient in use of the English language.
• Along with other Program prerequisites, all candidates must be able to independently, with or without reasonable accommodation, meet Program specific technical standards of general and specific abilities in addition to the behavioral and social attributes.
• Prior to matriculation, students must successfully pass a national background check, a comprehensive drug screen, and medical clearance for participation in the program.
• Applicants must meet all immunization requirements prior to matriculation. The MPAS Program immunization requirements are published on the web page.

Academic Policies/Requirements For Promotion and Graduation

The MPAS program is designed as a full-time "lock-step" 27-month program consisting of seven consecutive semesters. The semesters are divided between 13-mmonth didactic phase and a 14-month clinical phase. All program courses must be completed; advanced placement (i.e., credit for previously completed coursework) is not an option.

Attaining the MPAS degree will require the successful completion of all didactic and clinical phase coursework. Satisfactory progress through the program requires a minimum passing grade of C (73%) in each course; a 3.00 GPA in each semester, and a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA. Failing to receive a final passing grade in didactic phase coursework will result in either deceleration or dismissal and automatically prevent students from progressing to the next semester. Failing to receive a passing grade in clinical phase coursework will result in deceleration or dismissal or require remediation (e.g. repeating a supervised clinical practice experience resulting in delay of graduation. Students are assigned an academic advisor within the program to monitor their progress and to recommend resources if experiencing academic difficulty. Students who fail to maintain the academic requirements are subject to probation, deceleration, or dismissal. 

Accreditation:

The Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) has granted Accreditation-Provisional status to the Emory & Henry College Physician Assistant Program sponsored by Emory & Henry College. Accreditation-Provisional is an accreditation status granted when the plans and resources 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 that five years from matriculation of the first class.