Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS)

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Program Description: The Weber State University Physician Assistant (PA) Program is a two-year, full-time, intensive graduate level program that will train individuals with clinical experience and a strong academic background for careers as physician assistants and leaders in the field of medicine. Students who successfully complete each aspect of the program, including a master’s project and summative competency exams (scheduled throughout the program), and achieve a cumulative minimum GPA of 3.0 are eligible for graduation. Graduates from the program will receive a Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS) degree from Weber State University and are eligible for certification by the National Commission on the Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA). Once certified, the PA is eligible to apply for a license to practice medicine in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Credit Hour Requirement: A total of 92 graduate credit hours are required to complete the program.
Program Code: 2080MPAS
CIPC: 510912

Pre-requisites and Admissions

Applicants to the WSU PA Program must hold a bachelor’s degree or higher and meet all program Prerequisites and Matriculation Requirements before they are eligible to apply to the program. Interested applicants must submit a formal application and all supporting documents to the Central Application Service for the Physician Assistant (CASPA) on or before the program’s published deadline. No exceptions will be made for late applications.

Accreditation

The WSU PA Program has not yet been accredited. WSU has applied for Accreditation-Provisional from the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA). The WSU PA Program anticipates matriculating its first class in January 2023 pending achieving Accreditation-Provisional status at the September 2022 ARC-PA meeting. 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. If the WSU PA Program is not granted by the ARC-PA, the WSU PA Program will not commence in January 2023 as planned. Weber State University will not be responsible for refunding fees/expenses by applicants during the application and/or interview process (e.g., CASPA fees, travel to/from interviews, etc.).

Advisement

For questions, please contact the program’s Admissions Coordinator at wsupaadmissions@weber.edu.

Curriculum

Only students who are admitted to the program are eligible to take courses within the department. The curriculum is “lock step”, meaning that students must complete the program by passing each exam and each course before being eligible to progress and take classes in subsequent semesters.

Year 1

The first year of training consists of classroom instruction enhanced by simulated clinical experiences designed to provide students with a foundation in medical knowledge, skills, behaviors, and attitudes required for the practice of medicine. The curriculum builds on prerequisite coursework and clinical experiences students complete prior to matriculation and utilizes an integrated systems-based approach that eliminates compartmentalized knowledge and helps students achieve clinical acumen by creating meaningful application between biomedical science, clinical science, pharmacotherapy, and professional practice. Content synthesis is further enhanced by integrating a variety of teaching methods, including lectures, labs, team- and inquiring-based learning, and evidence-based practice.

Year 2

Following successful completion of the first year of training, students begin a year of supervised clinical practice experiences (SCPEs) in a variety of settings in multiple disciplines under the direct supervision of a clinical preceptor. In direct patient care environments, students expand and apply basic medical knowledge, practice clinical and technical skills, and participate in the team-based practice of medicine. During this clinical phase, students will return to campus periodically for testing as well as continued didactic training in medicine and professional development. The master’s project will also be completed during the clinical year.

MPAS 6004 - Professional Development 4 Credits: (1)
MPAS 6005 - Professional Development 5 Credits: (1)
MPAS 6006 - Professional Development 6 Credits: (1)
MPAS 6500 - Preceptorship 1 Credits: (12)
MPAS 6510 - Preceptorship 2 Credits: (12)
MPAS 6520 - Preceptorship 3 Credits: (12)

Master’s Project

In addition to the courses listed above, students are required to successfully complete a master’s project.

Comprehensive Summative Exams

Students must undergo and pass comprehensive summative exams throughout the program used to evaluate competencies required to meet Entrustable Professional Activities, real-life, key tasks that a PA can be entrusted to perform in a given healthcare context once sufficient competence has been demonstrated.